An approach to boat documentation

In this contribution, I present a methodological approach for the documentation of craft objects, including a comparison of traditional analogue methods and modern digital photogrammetry. From a boat builder’s perspective, I document traditional boats. In my current PhD project, I investigate how documentation of objects, from a craft person´s perspective, can be used to reconstruct craft processes. The case study is on the ‘öka’ from the Stockholm archipelago, a local variation of the Nordic clinker boat tradition. In this contribution, I present the basic structure of my boat documentation work and pinpoint some specific examples from the use of digital methods in comparison with analogue measuring. A good practice of documentation needs to consider both the advantages and the possible shortcomings of digital methods.