Case Study: Switchsports achieves a modular "Swiss Army knife" boat with Alibre Design

Switchsports - Customer Case Study

Switchsports, a New Zealand company, set out to design a highly modular craft that converts from kayak to outrigger, catamaran, trimaran and even a land yacht. The core challenge was modeling a large, hollow 10‑foot hull with smooth ergonomic curves, 30 concavities and numerous attachable components — all without a high‑cost CAD package. Switchsports partnered with Alibre and used Alibre Design to tackle the complex surfacing and parametric modeling requirements.

Bay CAD Services used Alibre Design’s lofting, parametric features, extruded cuts and fillets to build the hull from 22 curved profiles, enabling fast resizing and iterations without reworking edge rounds. An intern produced the production‑ready model, which was exported for rotational molding; Alibre Design improved drawing production efficiency and sped development. As a result, Switchsports’ Core Kayak system moved into production and is now sold in New Zealand and internationally, with Alibre credited for enabling quicker iterations and a manufacturable design.

Switchsports

Stacy Bower

Owner