Elrick,

I actually use SolidWorks, but have been looking at Moi and Rhino for better surfacing tools. But a quick run through the Moi help seems to indicate a network surface in Moi might give you a bit better control if loft does not.

I have done a fair amount of reverse engineering work over the last few years, and now that I understand it, that is what you are doing with this hull.

If you have a concern over how faithful your CAD model is to the hand made form, then you also need a way to measure the difference. I think getting a good scan of the hull will benefit you by providing a reference for deviation analysis, as well as giving you a reference for the modeling process. However, I don't believe there is any way to go directly from the scan to a 3d cad model without a lot of work. Some high end programs like Design X (Geomagic) can simplify the process, but I have not seen anything like your hull produced with Design X. I would love to know how it would handle something like this.

I understand the Next Engine did not work well for you. Perhaps there is another scanner or service that might. Your part is large, so a long range scanner might actually work fairly well and give you reasonable accuracy. Some of the laser scanners that attach to digitizing arms like the Faro only scan about 1-1/2" swath at on time so it would take a VERY long time to do your hull that way. I work with someone who has used a Focus3D (also from Faro) to do body panels. I constructed the nose of a truck using the long range scan from the Focus3D as a modeling reference.