Columbia River Maritime Museum

Digital Documentation of the Pilot Boat Peacock

The Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, Oregon preserves the maritime history of the Columbia River and the Pacific Northwest.

Among the historic vessels associated with the museum is the pilot boat Peacock, preserved outside the museum.

HAES and its technical partners, Norsk Remote Sensing and Ilios Remote Sensing, have begun three-dimensional documentation of Peacock, demonstrating how modern reality-capture technology can help digitally preserve historic vessels and make them accessible to audiences beyond the museum itself.

The existing documentation represents the first phase of the project. HAES intends to complete the documentation of the vessel once appropriate access can be coordinated with the Columbia River Maritime Museum.

Digital documentation can preserve the vessel while helping more people discover the history it represents..

Digitally Preserving Historic Vessels

From Physical Vessel to Measurable 3D Record

Historic vessels present unique documentation challenges. Complex hull geometry, machinery, structural elements, modifications, and decades of service can be difficult to capture completely using photographs and conventional measurements alone. Three-dimensional reality capture provides another approach.

A detailed digital record can preserve information about a vessel's shape, structure, machinery, and surviving features while allowing researchers, historians, preservation organizations, and members of the public to examine the vessel from perspectives that may be difficult to experience physically.

The current Peacock dataset documents the portions of the vessel accessible during the initial work. Once access is coordinated with the museum, HAES plans to return and complete the vessel's three-dimensional documentation, including areas that could not be captured during the initial phase.

Explore Peacock in 3D

A Work in Progress

The interactive model and fly-through below show the three-dimensional documentation completed to date.

The interactive 3D model allows visitors to control the viewpoint, rotate the vessel, zoom in, and explore the captured areas at their own pace.

The fly-through video provides a guided presentation of the data and demonstrates how three-dimensional documentation can be used for public interpretation and outreach.

These models should therefore be viewed as a work in progress rather than the final digital record of Peacock. Additional documentation will be incorporated after access to the remaining areas of the vessel is coordinated with the museum.