Minnesota Historic Fishing Boats Analysis & 3D Scanning

MHM's short and intermediate term goals for this project were exceeded in every measurable way. MHM's primary goal for the MHFBA3DS Project was to 3D scan the 4 watercraft in this study in order to record every detail digitally and investigate the maritime histories of the vessels. MHM's expectations for this project ? the fieldwork portion ? was exceeded not only when the watercraft were successfully documented and 3D scanned, but in the cooperation MHM experienced with the staff and volunteers of the collections holding the objects. The volunteers and staff were eager to assist MHM's researchers and provide appropriate access to the watercraft. Measurable outcomes for the MHFBA3DS Project are completed digital models of each watercraft, the maritime history of each vessel is known to the extant that is possible to date, the project report is available to all Minnesotas - and anyone who is interested - on the internet, and the historical societies that hold the objects have in hand the-files concerning their unique and significant Minnesota watercraft. Further, through maritime historical research and as a long-term impact that produced results in the short term, MHM was made aware that the Thompson's Boat House - in its early days - acquired a fleet of clinker-built row boats designed and constructed by the Joseph Dingle Boat Works (JDBW) of St. Paul. In 2017, MHM documented a JDBW watercraft in the holdings of the MNHS; included in that project report was a list of boats produced by the JDBW (identified through research), most of which no longer survive. However, at least 3 JDBW clinker-built win glass stern row boats associated with the Thompson's Boat House survived into the early 1980s - and at least 2 of them survived the 1986 destruction by fire of the boat house.

These connections, where a previous project have impacts and influence on current projects, occurs often during MHM?s maritime history and nautical archaeology research; MHM is the first organization to conduct these types of studies in Minnesota and the collective knowledge and extensive databases MHM has compiled makes these connections possible - and recognized by professional underwater archaeologists and maritime historians. From there, the public is informed of these connections and this rich history by the uploading of MHM?s reports to the Internet Archive and linked through our web site in perpetuity. Further, in the short, medium, and long term, the data produced during this project will increase the knowledge of the museum staff and volunteers as to the significance of the watercraft they curate and their meaning in our shared maritime history. The information accumulated during this project and the attributes recorded from each watercraft provides starting points for future artifact studies. In the intermediate and long term, the historical research conducted by MHM researchers provides a contextual framework for historical Minnesota waterborne transportation, hunting, and inland yacht racing by purpose-built small craft that is the basis for the conclusions drawn during this project - and for further research as more artifacts are located. In the long term, the data collected during the MHFBA3DS Project will be referenced, used, and added to as more curated small watercraft are documented and studied ? not only by MHM researchers but by other archaeologists, historians, and the interested public since the report is freely available on the internet. Throughout the MHFBA3DS Project, MHM has not received one negative comment about the work on social media. Through the free and easily accessible MHFBA3DS Project Report. It is hoped that Minnesotans who own - and museums that curate - small watercraft in the future will have read the report and recognize the need for the preservation and documentation of these significant - and rare - physical representations of our shared maritime heritage in order to build upon this legacy for future generations.