About MyBoatPlans Official Website
We scanned myboatplans.com directly, and this is one of the more concretely documented cases in this review series, not because of anything hidden, but because real, named people have already publicly exposed specific problems with it.
A Reddit user posting under u/guillemot on r/boatbuilding has repeatedly identified that the photo used on the site to represent “Martin Reid,” the site’s master-boat-builder persona, is actually a photo of himself, taken by his own mother in Maine in 2007, not the location and date implied on the site. This post has recurred on that subreddit multiple times over the past year, each time gaining significant upvotes, a sustained, specific, named community warning rather than a vague accusation. Separately, a professional boat designer posting on the boatdesign.net forum stated plainly that the plans sold on this site are public domain designs from deceased designers, available for free elsewhere, and that the site’s operator has modified some of them without the skill to do so safely.
We also found concrete technical evidence of sloppy template reuse directly on the live page: several links, including one order button, point to “diybikerepair.com” and a ClickBank subdomain for an entirely unrelated bike-repair product, and a footer navigation link is labeled “About Dave” despite the site’s persona being named “Martin Reid” throughout. These are leftover artifacts from a template reused across multiple unrelated niche sites, not isolated typos.
| Positive Reviews | Negative Reviews |
|---|---|
| Checkout runs through ClickBank, giving buyers standardized refund protection, with a stated 60-day guarantee | A named individual has publicly and repeatedly documented that the site’s “master boat builder” photo is stolen from him, taken in a different place and year than implied |
| The bundle does include a large volume of boat plans, guides, and video content | A professional boat designer states the plans are public-domain designs available for free elsewhere, not exclusive proprietary content |
| Digital delivery gives instant access without a shipping wait | Live technical evidence (broken links to an unrelated bike-repair product, a mislabeled “About Dave” nav link) points to a reused template across a network of similar sites |
I’ve reviewed a lot of digital plan-and-guide bundles in this series, and MyBoatPlans is one of the few where independent, named individuals have already done detailed, specific fact-checking, and what they found doesn’t hold up well: a stolen identity photo and a claim that the core product is repackaged public-domain content.
Is MyBoatPlans legit? This analysis looks at what’s actually verifiable about the persona, the plans themselves, and what to weigh before buying.
What is MyBoatPlans?
MyBoatPlans is a digital bundle of 518 boat-building plans across sailboats, canoes, kayaks, runabouts, houseboats, and other categories, credited to a persona named “Martin Reid,” sold with several bonus guides and boat-design software.
- Price: $47, marked down from a stated $167-$197
- Format: Instant digital access, with an optional physical DVD/book edition
- Regulatory Status: Not a licensed engineering or naval-architecture service; buyers assume responsibility for any vessel they build
What’s Included in MyBoatPlans
Based on the official site, the bundle includes:
- 518 Boat Plans – across sailboats, rowboats, canoes, kayaks, runabouts, houseboats, cabin cruisers, and hydroplanes
- 40+ Video Tutorials – boat-building technique videos
- 3D Boat Design Software – CAD software for custom designs
- A 600-Page Boat Builder’s Guide – general construction reference material
- A Boat Safety Regulations Guide – general compliance information
How MyBoatPlans Is Marketed to Work
The sales page frames itself as one master builder’s 31-year personal archive, offered as a complete alternative to buying individual, expensive plans elsewhere.
What’s worth understanding about this framing, based on independent findings:
- The Persona’s Photo Is Documented as Stolen: a named individual has repeatedly and publicly identified the “Martin Reid” photo as his own, taken in a different context than implied on the site.
- The Plans May Be Public Domain, Not Proprietary: an independent boat designer states the included plans originate from long-deceased designers and circulate freely elsewhere, contradicting the “31 years of my own designs” framing.
- Template Reuse Across Sites: broken links to an unrelated bike-repair product and a mismatched author name in the footer suggest this page is one of several similar sites built from a shared template, consistent with the “constellation of websites” pattern described by an independent Reddit reviewer.
MyBoatPlans: What’s Claimed as Benefits
Based on the official marketing, the stated benefits are:
- Large Volume of Content – 518 plans plus video tutorials and bonus guides
- Beginner-Friendly Framing – marketed as usable with zero prior experience
- One-Time Payment – no subscription or recurring fees
- 60-Day Guarantee – a stated no-questions-asked refund window
- Free Lifetime Updates – additional plans released monthly, per the site
MyBoatPlans Cons
Before buying, there are serious considerations worth weighing.
- Documented Stolen Identity Photo: a named individual has repeatedly, publicly identified the site’s “master builder” photo as taken from him without permission or context.
- Disputed Originality of the Plans: an independent boat designer states the plans are public-domain designs available for free elsewhere, not exclusive proprietary content built from 31 years of personal experience.
- Confirmed Template Reuse: broken links to an unrelated product and a mismatched footer author name indicate this site is part of a broader network of similarly constructed pages.
- Safety Stakes Are Real: unlike most products in this review series, boat-building plans carry genuine safety consequences if a design is poorly modified or unsuited to its intended use, which is exactly the concern the independent boat designer raised.
Is MyBoatPlans a Scam?
This is one of the more clearly documented cases in this review series. Independent, named sources have identified specific, checkable problems rather than general suspicion.
Red flags worth taking seriously:
- A named individual has repeatedly and publicly documented that his personal photo was used without permission to represent a fictional persona
- A professional in the boat-design field states the core product is repackaged public-domain content, not original proprietary plans
- Concrete technical evidence on the live page points to template reuse across a network of similar sites
What’s still real: checkout runs through ClickBank’s standardized refund system, and a 60-day guarantee gives buyers a way to get their money back if they’re unsatisfied.
My take: given specific, named, repeated public documentation of a stolen photo and a professional’s direct dispute of the plans’ originality, this is a case where the caution signs are unusually well-substantiated rather than speculative. If you’re looking for boat plans, independently sourced or purpose-designed plans from a verifiable naval architect are a safer choice, especially given the real safety stakes of boat construction.
Conclusion
Looking at MyBoatPlans overall, this review found more specific, named, independently documented concerns than most products covered in this series: a publicly identified stolen photo, a professional’s direct claim that the plans are public domain, and concrete technical evidence of template reuse.
Its most significant issue isn’t a vague suspicion, it’s that named, checkable sources have already done the work of identifying exactly what doesn’t add up.
Before you buy, weigh the independent claims about the persona’s photo and the plans’ originality seriously, and if you’re building a boat you intend to actually put in the water, consider sourcing plans from a verifiable naval architect or designer given the real safety implications.
