3D Printed Boats Prepare to Rewrite the Future of Marine Manufacturing

How Dutch innovators are using large-format 3D printing to speed up boatbuilding and reshape an age-old industry

The final test was intentionally brutal. In a Delft workshop, Maarten Logtenberg swung a sledgehammer at a sample panel of newly developed composite material. The hammer bounced off, leaving almost no mark. After two years of adjusting resins, thermoplastics, and reinforcement fibers, the team had found the right material: strong, UV-resistant, and capable of enduring the corrosive reality of the sea. That breakthrough became the foundation for their next ambition. If they could perfect the material, they believed they could 3D print an entire boat.

Logtenberg, the co-founder of CEAD, has spent years building large-format 3D printers for industrial clients. Boatbuilding, however, is a new venture for the Dutch company, and one the founders believe can transform one of the world’s most traditional, labour-intensive industries. Boats face harsh marine conditions and typically require weeks of hand-laid fibreglass, multiple moulds, and a lot of manual craftsmanship. CEAD wanted to change that.

Once the chemistry was right, it took only four days for the first boat hull to emerge from the new production line. A robotic arm extruded the molten thermoplastic, layer by layer, guided by a digital design. With the method refined, CEAD now prints one hull a week, automating almost 90 percent of the conventional process. “Normally it takes weeks to build a hull. We print one now every week,” Logtenberg says. It is the kind of industrial acceleration that 3D printing has promised for years, but rarely achieved on such a scale.

The company’s giant printer, nearly 40 metres long, has already been used by a client in Abu Dhabi to produce an electric ferry. At their Marine Application Centre in Delft, CEAD has printed a 12-metre prototype fast boat for the Dutch Navy. That vessel, similar to a rigid inflatable boat, was delivered in six weeks at a tiny fraction of traditional procurement costs. According to Logtenberg, that speed also opens the door to rapid iteration. They can print a second version in six weeks, reuse the original design files instantly, and even recycle the first hull if needed.

The flexibility of the technology is also drawing attention from military and security organisations. In a trial with NATO Special Forces, CEAD produced unmanned surface vessels on-site, essentially printing nautical drones in a matter of hours. Designs were adapted on the fly based on operational requirements, something impossible in conventional boatbuilding.

Mobility is part of the appeal. Even the largest printers can be transported in shipping containers, moved closer to end users, and installed at ports or naval bases. The only major logistics requirement is the raw material itself, which arrives as lightweight pellet bags. Once they have the digital design, CEAD says it can print almost any 6-metre workboat or 12-metre patrol craft with minimal adjustment.

Just 30 kilometres away, in Rotterdam, another Dutch company is placing its bets on printed boats for the leisure and rental market. Raw Idea, known for its Tanaruz brand, uses a mix of recycled plastics and fibreglass, turning consumer waste into durable hulls. Joyce Pont, the firm’s managing director, says customers are curious but cautious. Rental companies, however, are enthusiastic. A printed boat becomes a marketing asset as much as a vessel, something people want to touch, photograph, and share online. Raw Idea believes scaling production will eventually make these boats cheaper than their traditional counterparts.

Both CEAD and Raw Idea acknowledge that regulation remains a moving target. Certification bodies are evaluating new materials, new manufacturing patterns, and new stress behaviours, often in real time. Unlike traditional fibreglass hulls, a 3D printed hull is a single seamless structure, built from digital geometry rather than moulds. That novelty demands new testing methodologies and updated safety criteria.

The wider shipping world already uses additive manufacturing, but mainly for components and spare parts rather than entire hulls. Whether full-scale printed ships will emerge remains uncertain. Pont believes luxury vessels, superyachts, and complex custom builds will resist automation because they rely heavily on craftsmanship. Logtenberg is more optimistic. A year ago, he says, printing a 12-metre boat seemed implausible. Now it is routine. Scaling up to larger hulls will require more material science, more powerful printers, and improved heat management systems. But he sees no fundamental barrier.

Thermoplastics continue to evolve, printers get larger every year, and naval organizations are increasingly open to new manufacturing methods. That combination is pushing 3D printing closer to becoming not just a novelty, but an industrial standard.

In an industry where delivery timelines are long, labor shortages are common, and sustainability pressures are rising, the promise of printing reliable, recyclable boats in days rather than months may prove too compelling to ignore. The next decade will determine whether this technology remains a niche success or becomes the backbone of modern marine manufacturing.