Dokumentation av båtar

Abstract

The subject of this thesis is documentation of boats. Traditional boats and boat building skills are valuable assets of the cultural heritage and there is an urgent need of documentation and safeguarding. The aim of the study is to test and develop methods for the documentation of boats. The technology of digital Photogrammetry has evolved strongly in the field of heritage documentation and visualization, and in this study photogrammetry is evaluated as a method to record the complex shape of the boats hull. The possible advantages and disadvantages of photogrammetry as a tool for documentation are analyzed in comparison with traditional manual methods of recording a boats shape. The methods for digital documentation are refined trough the study and a work flow is created of how to record the boats shape in photogrammetry and export it to a CAD/boat design software. In the CAD/boat design software a conventional lines plan of the boat is produced. All documented boats in this study are built in the Nordic clinker boat tradition. In order to improve the methods of boat documentation on a general level a forensic perspective is used. The forensic perspective is a way to acquire as much information as possible from an object, using a palette of methods and perspectives. In this study the photogrammetry is one of these methods, mainly used to record the boats geometrical properties. In addition to the observed differences in technical properties and time/cost efficiency there is also an analysis of other impacts of each documentation method. The different methods impact on the interpretation and experience of the object is analyzed in the light of theory from the field of craft science. Tacit knowledge, tradition, intangible heritage and knowledge transfer are concepts often used in craft science, and in this study they are used to explain how objects can act as containers of knowledge and possibly even work as tradition bearers in a time-gap apprenticeship, learning craft skills from objects made by our ancestors. The important role of craftspersons in the interpretation of craft objects is stressed, especially in the interpretation of the objects craft properties and in documentation aiming for reconstruction of objects or craft processes. The study identifies a number of pros and cons of the digital photogrammetry and presents guidelines to improve a good practice of boat documentation. These guidelines can be helpful in documentation of other craft objects as well. A general conclusion is that photogrammetry can be a cost-effective and efficient method for the documentation of boats, but to reach a good practice of documentation it must be used with an awareness of its shortcomings and in combination with other methods of documentation.