Terrestrial laser scanning and UAV photogrammetry in documentation of historic ships: A case study based on the late 19th-century schooner Equator

Abstract

Current efforts in cultural heritage documentation largely incorporate a process of creating a digital representation of an object, groups of objects, or entire large-scale sites using various scanning methods, tools, and data sources. One application of digital documentation is the recording and analyses of maritime resources—historic ships and shipwrecks—that, for all practical and economic reasons will not survive. To preserve the data in lieu of a physical object, this article presents a set of approaches and methodological considerations of recording ships in a terrestrial setting with a combination of laser scanning, UAV photogrammetry, and traditional archaeological recording. Using the late 19th-century Pacific schooner (turned steamer, turned diesel tugboat), Equator, as a case study, a ship that was scheduled for demolition in 2023, the goal of this article is to show the workflow, preliminary results, and range of settings to produce comprehensive, precise, yet highly expedited digital documentation for historic preservation of this important vessel.