Could 3D Printed Boats Become the Next Breakthrough in Marine Technology

The final test was simple but revealing. Maarten Logtenberg raised a sledgehammer and struck the sample with full force. The hammer bounced back, leaving barely a scratch. After two years of careful experimentation, he and his team had finally created a material strong enough to face the harsh marine environment. This blend of thermoplastics and fibreglass is tough, resistant to marine growth, and durable under sunlight. For Mr Logtenberg, it was the perfect foundation for something ambitious. It was the moment he knew they could 3D print a fully functional boat.

Reinventing Boatbuilding with Speed and Automation

Building boats has always been labour-intensive, largely because vessels must withstand constant exposure to water, pressure, and corrosion. Traditionally, crafting a hull takes weeks of precise manual work. But at the new factory in Delft, where Mr Logtenberg and his colleagues work, things look very different. Once the material was perfected, their first boat hull rolled out in just four days. He says that almost ninety percent of the entire boatbuilding process is now automated, allowing the team to create one new hull every week. It is the kind of efficiency that 3D printing has promised for years but rarely delivered at scale.

From Printer Makers to Boat Makers

Mr Logtenberg is the co-founder of CEAD, a Dutch company known for manufacturing large-format 3D printers. Until recently, CEAD focused on supplying machines to other industries. The success in boatbuilding pushed them to take a new step by entering production themselves. He believes that to earn trust in 3D printed boats, the market needs real examples rather than theories. Instead of waiting for investors to take a risk, CEAD decided to build the vessels on its own. By doing so, they hope to prove both the strength and commercial value of the technology.

How Additive Manufacturing Changes the Process

Traditional fibreglass boats require moulds, manual layering and significant craftsmanship. With additive manufacturing, the design work happens upfront in the software and hardware. The printer builds a boat layer by layer, bonding each piece to form a seamless structure. Once the digital plan is set and the material is loaded, the machine needs almost no human input. Adjustments to size and shape can be made through software without changing production equipment. Although 3D printing is widely used in smaller sectors like dentistry, scaling it to print durable boats introduces a whole new set of challenges.

Big Printers for Big Dreams

CEAD’s largest printer stretches nearly forty metres long. One of their clients in Abu Dhabi even used it to print a full sized electric ferry. At their Marine Application Centre in Delft, the team has already designed and built a twelve metre fast patrol boat for the Dutch Navy. What usually takes years was completed in six weeks and at a significantly lower cost. Even more impressive is the ability to recycle the boat and build a new one in the same time frame. Another rising application is unmanned vessels. CEAD recently worked with Nato Special Forces, printing operational drones on site within hours, adjusting the designs as needed. The mobility of the printers makes this possible. A single machine can be transported inside a shipping container and operated much closer to the deployment area.

A Flexible Future for Marine Manufacturing

Mr Logtenberg believes this flexibility is what makes 3D printing ideal for future marine production. Whether printing a small work boat or a twelve metre military vessel, the process remains the same. Only the digital design changes. The only material that needs transporting is the base thermoplastic blend, which can be shipped in large, efficient bags instead of bulky boat hulls. As demand grows for faster manufacturing, sustainable materials and adaptable production, CEAD’s work suggests that 3D printed boats could soon become a practical, cost effective and transformative reality for the maritime world.