The first 3D-printed boat in the world took to the water Thursday at the University of Maine, with three quarters of Maine’s congressional delegation in it.

U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, Rep. Jared Golden, and founding Executive Director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center Habib Dagher boarded the boat as it floated in the center’s wave pool.





The boat is not only the largest 3D-printed object in the world. It was also made by the world’s largest 3D printer in a little more than 70 hours. The University of Maine is now home to that printer, and it’s working with a national laboratory to make 3D printing more useful in manufacturing. The hope is also that the collaboration provides a boost to Maine’s forest products industry by finding new uses for wood-based products.

About 300 people witnessed the unveiling of the printer and the boat at UMaine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center on Thursday.

“This has never been done in the world,” Dagher said. “The purpose of this is to see what’s possible.”