Wahoo is the brain child of businessman Paul Holland and Julian Willmott who has more than 30 years experience in the marine industry. They were looking for an ocean going RIB with a Jekyll and Hyde personality. They wanted awesome power and race performance but a little bit of style and comfort for those cross-channel adventures where they could be at the helm for several hours at a time. Then there was the family to think of. Their search for the ideal vessel proved fruitless, so they decided to build their own.
They acquired the rights to a proven racing hull designed by the world-reknown marine designer Lorne Campbell and constructed Maximus- the prototype Wahoo – in Julian’s boat yard in Southampton. Not quite the specification of the new Barracuda, but she outshone every RIB on the Solent. Public interest and a passion for power boats drove the pair on to put the Wahoo into commercial production with the first Barracuda making her debut at the London Boat Show in January 2008.
