|
|
|
|
|||||
|
||||||
From: Mike Maurice (no email)
Date: Wed Oct 26 2005 - 15:38:15 EDT
I think it may be time to update my conclusions about rounding up
documentation.
I have a friend who will scan printed sheets if I take them over to
him. He has better equipment for scanning but if the documents are
pretty clear then most scanners will give reasonable results; these
results most likely are not satisfactory if the document is not
really clear. And photos that I have fall into this class of things
better done by someone else.
Turning the pictures and sheets into digital form assures that they
will be preserved even if lost or badly damaged.
Scanning of drawings made by hand or from original designer's plans
is useful, but not often available.
Taking closeup pictures of the boats equipment, engines, mechanical
fastenings, hoses, etc., where the overall layout can be discerned as
well as fine detail is worth it's weight in gold. Make sure the
pictures are in focus and use the built in flash to illuminate the
scene. The autofocus may not work well without some ambient light
from a flashlight or daylight. You need a 4 megapixel(+) camera for this.
Stored on the computer at home or office means that you can do
research which would otherwise require examining the actual part(s)
and might require a trip of tens to hundreds of miles in order to
accomplish. In addition the pictures can be emailed to someone to
clarify a point or make it possible to identify a part or piece of
equipment. Not that all of this could have been done by conventional
pictures in years past, but the speed with which you can get things
done is staggering. Major problems can be worked out in minutes that
would have required days or months to get done in the past.
Using the pictures, doing searches on google, much can be
accomplished in an afternoon. You can identify old equipment, find
sources with addresses and phone numbers in minutes that would take
much longer by phone.
The level of detail to which you can descend is awesome. I have been
collecting Material Safety Data sheets for the glues, paints,
sealants, etc. for any particular project. As well as the brochures
and technical specifications. At the same time I can generally locate
technical papers which explain the theory or use and maintenance. All
of this information may seem like overkill, but if you read the
materials you will quickly spot errors in your plans which are less
expensive to correct in the planning stage than to redo after the fact.
Having all this in digital format saves space and is quicker to
access than if you had a pile of paper. For a small project that I
have been setting up we have over 5 gigabytes of video, pictures and
PDF files collected, which fits on a DVD and a CD.
This kind of documentation can add immensely to the value of the boat
and makes it an order of magnitude easier for a buyer, your heirs and
assigns, or whatever to take over the boat at some time in the future.
Mike
Capt. Mike Maurice
Tualatin(Portland), Oregon
_______________________________________________
http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering
To unsubscribe send email to
with the word
UNSUBSCRIBE and nothing else in the subject or body of the message.
Trawlers & Trawlering and T&T are trademarks of Water World
Productions. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
|