Hi
I'm 63 and retired at 50 after teaching engineering to adults for a well known confectionery company.
I now have a part time job as a D&T technician in a Technology college (secondary school)
We have 2 lazer cutters and 2 3D printers or Rapid prototypes as they are called.
The children have been using these for the last 5 years to make some fantastic GCSE and A level projects.
I was the first one to build the commercial version of the rep-rap sold by the A1 company and called Rap-Man
This was the one designed by Bath Uni.
It was £850 3 years ago it's now only £550.
http://www.a1-tech.co.uk/You will need to be able to use a drawing package, to produce STL files.
We use Solidworks
http://www.techsoft.co.uk/products/software/SolidWorks.aspJust like your PC, the kids can show you how.
As for your first post of building a boat, It can produce perfect parts that will lock together to form a hull or even the complete boat cabins and all.
It not the machine thats good it's your ability to draw it in the first place.
Click was good but the consept of a machine that can make itself, not yet.