I 3D Printed a Life-Size Boat (The PRINTcess)

This life-sized Benchy is 10 feet long, 3D printed from recycled PETG, and ready to sail! 🌊🚤

Featured Products:

Table of Contents:
00:00 – Introduction
02:03 – Features
05:50 – Design
06:47 – Material
09:53 – 3D Printing Hull
14:57 – Flotation
18:37 – Hull Assembly
20:14 – Epoxy Coating
21:52 – Base Plate
25:02 – Hull Float Test
28:23 – Cabin
32:31 – Red Trim
32:31 – Cabin Float Test
35:39 – Overturning Moment
38:11 – Keel
43:16 – Keel Float Test
44:38 – Electrical Wiring
47:10 – Propulsion

Join me on an incredible journey, 2.5 years in the making, as I tackle one of my biggest challenges yet: 3D printing a life-sized, fully functional Benchy boat—fondly known as the PRINTcess! In this single video, we cover the entire project from start to finish, including the design, printing process, assembly, and real-world testing on the water. The boat even meets all the safety and design criteria to be registered in Tennessee!

With over 600 lbs of recycled PETG, I 3D printed the hull in three large sections on my DIY large-format 3D printer, which were glued together to form the base of the boat. To tackle the Benchy’s naturally top-heavy design—thanks to its iconic cabin—I took a different approach for the cabin itself, filament printing it to keep it as light as possible. Fun animations throughout the video reveal the engineering considerations that went into crafting this unique vessel, explaining why traditional boats float and how we adapted these principles to keep the PRINTcess stable.

#3dbenchy #3dprinting #boat

[NefariousElasticity]

Now you and Emily need to collab for a race to see who's Benchy is truly superior

[cphrpunk]

“As a good engineer, I decided to do the math AFTER my design didn’t work”.

Holy crap, soooo relate. You’d think we’d learn.

“No more boats!”

(she didn’t say airplane)

[commander-tomalak]

Hi! Small correction at the 27:02 mark: the foam inside the hull does not alter the displacement of the hull and, therefore, does not provide any surplus buoyancy compared to an empty hull shell. On the contrary, it adds weight and pulls the boat a bit lower into the water. It only provides any surplus buoyancy in the case when the hull is breached, since it won't allow any water ingress into the cavity inside the hull shell. As long as the shell itself is intact, the foam literally only adds weight to the hull and does not improve buoyancy one bit ;)

[dachr]

Printing a Benchy on your Benchy.. That has to be the fastest like I've ever given a video. Nicely done!

[edgar]

Thanks again for making a long format video rather than the 16 part series on how to “tap a nail”, even with forced sponsor ads it doesn’t detract from the entertainment. Thank you for staying original throughout, it really is appreciated

[Weisz]

Now THIS is a 3D printed benchy. 10/10 work!

[hollt]

I feel I owe you an apology for my doubt/impatience. This was truly an impressive build that had far more complexities and challenges than I could have ever imagined. Well done!

In the medium size range, you could print a benchy large enough to wear as a hat... but then it'd be capsized.

[Massivedimension]

Well done @DrDFlo 👏Great to see our MDPE10 extruder in action!

[inspectorrex]

finally, someone uses total boat on an actual boat

[MrHolozip]

Holy crap, your explaination of the overturning moment was wonderful. What an amazing project, loved every minute!

[sciencetheory]

Thats my professor!!! Congrats on the success Professor Florian!⚓️

[broyout]

This is so cool! I tried to float a freshly printed benchy, but I couldn't get it to stay upright, it capsized immediately. I concluded that a benchy doesn't really work well as a boat 🙂
Color my surprise you are sailing around in one! Mega kudos!

[nicksmith]

I honestly thought you would never do it the last time you mentioned it. BUT YOU DID!!! Absolute star, top job Prof. I'm so impressed.

[BitzboxTV]

It's always great to see people push 3D printing to it's limits for amazing projects such as this. Some might say that you've really pushed the boat out with this

[thenextlayer]

This video should have 10X more views. Well done sir.

[Zae-R]

This is the slowest Benchy print of all time. That was very entertaining and I learned a ton BTW.

[SpencerPaire]

Great project and great video! Im so glad someone finally made a REAL Benchy!

But one criticism I have; really, displacement is the *only* way to float. It might be useful to think of the density explination in some cases, but it ignores the fact that the mechanics at play are exactly the same. It's just that density directly correlates mass-displacement to volume, without any geometry tricks. Also, floatation is independent of surface area; there is no correlation between depth of float/displacement and surface area. I imagine you ment cross sectional area?

[pianokid]

Hey, I love this project. Can’t believe your printer made it look soo flawless! :) good job. And I wanted to say you should try to make a speed boat next.

[bulletproofpepper]

I have been waiting for this video for two years. You have always come through with your best work. Epic art thanks for sharing.

[revrndcast]

Love this, and really hope you don't get a takedown notice after everything that's been happening with Benchy derivatives online.