That’s a four-foot rule laying in front of the hull.
OK, I don’t know what the largest 3D-Printed R/C model boat might be, but I’m unaware of any that are bigger than this one… it’s certainly the biggest printed assembly I’ve ever dealt with. Know of larger examples? I’m happy to feature them here!
This is another commission build, and we decided that a printed hull, even with its additional purchase cost, was competitive to the time and labor required to build such a hull in wood or fiberglass.
Due to printer size limitations, the hull is printed in three sections and assembled with tongue-in-groove mating joints. And unlike building with a fiberglass hull, the printing process allows for internal details to be included, such as precision-aligned motor mounts, deck beam seats, deck lip, and integral reinforcing structures.
This build is in-process; you can follow it on RC Groups.
Outer surface of hull is recreated in 3D CAD from original shipyard drawings.
Details are added, including the internal reinforcements.
And the details are exactly reproduced in the final 3D Print.
Looks great, 3DP is a major leap forward in model building, when this technology becomes more affordable I have no doubt it will be the way to go…maybe already so as we speak!