The Proteus

The Proteus IOM is an outstanding design by Craig Richards, proven at the highest levels of radio sailing. At the 2026 IOM World Championships, Craig took two race wins on his way to 10th place overall in an extremely competitive field, demonstrating the boat’s performance against world-class opposition.

The Proteus is also straightforward to construct thanks to its innovative design. Much of the internal structure that wouldnormally be built separately is integrated into the printed sections, speeding up assembly while adding strength without unnecessary weight.

Several Proteus variants were developed during the design process, but we focus on the two most recent versions: the Proteus EVO, which Craig sailed at the 2026 IOM World Championships, and THE Proteus, which incorporates minor tweaks and enhancements based on how the EVO performed at the Worlds. Craig has indicated that THE Proteus is the final version of the design, so further modifications are unlikely.

3D Printing a Proteus

Demand for the Proteus is high. Although the boat is designed for self-printing, not everyone has access to suitable 3D printing facilities. That is where we can help: we print the Proteus hull sections for you, ready for you to complete the build yourself.

As a company specialising in 3D-printed parts for the radio sailing community, we are ideally placed to produce the printed sections for your Proteus build. You receive accurately printed components and retain the satisfaction of completing the final assembly yourself.

What Filament for a Proteus

There is a lot of discussion and experimentation around different filaments and printing methods. We follow this closely and are also part of the team carrying out the testing. 

Filament properties, strengths and weaknesses are a bit of a minefield to understand and there are as many opinions on the topic as there are people discussing the topic.

At present, two filament types have proved reliable for Proteus hulls.  Below we cover some of the basics of there filaments but please bear in mind that these remain only our opinion of the topic.

PLA

PLA (polylactic acid) is the most widely used 3D printer filament, used every day by millions of people around the world. For printed boats, we use specialist PLA variants with additives that improve properties such as strength, impact resistance, elasticity and heat resistance.

The two variants of PLA that we use for printed boats are BambuLab PLA Tough + and Polymaker Polymax PLA (Previously called Polymer PLA Tough).

Both of these filaments can produce a strong hull with a good surface finish that requires little post-print sanding when printed on a well-tuned printer.

The downside of PLA is that it softens at around 55°C, so a boat left in direct sun or in a hot car may warp or deform. That should not put you off: if you want a strong boat that will survive most on-water incidents, PLA is an excellent choice. You simply need to look after it properly.

ASA

ASA (Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate) is an improved form of ABS, offering more flexibility and ultimate strength than standard ABS. We tend to use BambuLab ASA because we have found it to be the most reliable option.

ASA is much harder to print than PLA and cannot be printed reliably on basic 3D printers. It needs to be printed inside a heated chamber, and the filament should be dried in a dehumidifier before use.

The big advantage of ASA over PLA is its much higher softening temperature, which means your boat can withstandtemperatures exceeding 100°C.

This advantage does come with a downside: an ASA hull can be more brittle and may be less likely to survive a heavy on-water impact. To reduce this risk, we strongly recommend sheathing the assembled hull in epoxy glass of at least 50 gsm.Some builders sheath only the underside up to the shrouds, but we recommend a full sheath, as we have seen ASA boats crack above a half-sheath.

In short, choose PLA if you want a strong, reliable hull with an excellent finish and you are happy to store and transport it carefully. Choose ASA if heat resistance is your priority and you are prepared to sheath the hull to improve impact resistance.

Proteus License

To print a Proteus, or to have one printed for you, you need to purchase a one-off licence from the designer’srepresentative. Once purchased, the licence allows you to print as many hulls as you wish for your own use and coversany future evolutions of the design, if released.

If this is your first Proteus, we can handle the licence process for you as part of your purchase.

Assembling Your Proteus 

Craig Richards, the designer of the Proteus, wanted to make the final build process as straightforward as possible. Most of the internal elements are printed in situ, so assembly can be completed by anyone with basic modelling skills.

In simple terms, you glue the six sections together, add the hatch ring and the servo tray specific to your winch and servo combination, then fit the remaining deck and internal hardware before sanding, painting if required, and polishing the hull. After that, it is ready for the rigs to be fitted.

If you do not feel comfortable completing the assembly yourself, we can put you in contact with builders who can do it for you. Let us know what you need, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Additional Hardware Needed to Complete Your Hull

To complete the build of your Proteus you will need some additional hardware for the sheeting arrangements etc.   We provide a kit of the various deck eyes, turning blocks, rods and tubes.

Hull Colour

The options for hull colour depend on how you intend to finish the hull. If you plan to paint the assembled hull, your options are almost endless. If you intend to leave it as a polished plastic hull, with or without a clear lacquer, you are limited to the filament colours available. Please use the links above to see the colour options, and we will contact you after your order to discuss your colour choice.

Finishing up your Build

To complete your boat and get out on the water, you will need to add rigs, keel, rudder and radio gear.

Rigs and Sails

We produce and supply most of the parts and components for your rigs through our online shop and can offer advice on what would suit your needs, so please do not hesitate to get in touch. When it comes to sails, we highly recommend CatSails, with whom we partner.

Keel, Bulb and Rudder

You should decide which keel and bulb you intend to use before the final assembly of your hull, as there is a fin-specific printed shim that should be bonded into the keelbox before you finish and/or paint your hull. We do not supply fins and bulbs ourselves, but we can recommend the following:

Klaes Nordkin (Sweden) makes a very nice set of fins, bulbs and rudders specifically for the Proteus. Claes may be contacted at claes@q2-ab.se. 

K7 Yachts - Phil Holliday of K7 Yachts can supply you with a full set of appendages either for you to finish yourself or as a ready-to-fit set.   Phil may be contacted at philholliday@k7yachts.com

Robot Yachts is another supplier that should be considered. While their fin and bulb are not specific to the Proteus and anything you buy will need to be fettled to fit, they remain a useful option: https://www.robotyachts.co.uk

We hope that this gives you sufficient information to make the right purchase but please do not hesitate to contact us if we can give you any further information you need to finalise your decision.

Production and Delivery of Your Kit

Before producing your kit, we'll contact you to confirm the fine details of your order, including filament colour and any specific requirements.

Printing a complete set of Proteus sections takes considerable time to ensure the high standard we maintain. Actual print time ranges from 54 to 72 hours per full kit.

Because of this, we cannot meet our standard 3-day dispatch commitment for these orders. Once your order is placed, we'll be in touch to finalise the details and provide you with an estimated shipment date.

The cost of shipping the items to you is dependant on a lot of factors and we will adjust this cost after your initial order