In 2022, a Florida workshop was making furniture. 4 years later, 8 rail-mounted robots were printing boat hulls up to 130 feet long in just 9 days, turning digital designs into giant vessels without costly molds

In 2022, the Florida workshop behind Haddy's boat-building operation was making furniture. Four years later, its St. Petersburg facility has eight industrial robotic systems capable of 3D printing large composite structures, including boat hulls. The idea behind the process is to remove one of the most expensive parts of conventional boatbuilding: the mold, as per a report.

For decades, composite boat hulls have generally been made by creating a mold, laying composite material into it by hand, allowing it to cure and then sanding the finished structure. Changing the hull design can require new tooling.