Scanmar

SCANMAR

Digitize our maritime and river heritage

About us
Escapade yatch- point cloud

Who are we ?

We started with a simple observation:
We can’t save every boat… physically.
But virtually, we can!

Scanmar is a non-profit association (under the French 1901 law), founded in August 2023 by five individuals deeply engaged in maritime heritage. They have long been involved in recording boat lines, preserving boat plans, and passing on evolving technical know-how.

Our first experiments in digital surveying began in 2015, initiated by Kelig-Yann Cotto, Chief Heritage Curator and Director of the Port-Musée of Douarnenez.

Founding Team

Bernard Ficatier

President – Naval carpentry teacher since 1985

Gwendal Jaffry

Vice-President – Editor-in-chief of Le Chasse-Marée magazine

Laurent Perherin

Secretary – Collections manager at the Port-Musée of Douarnenez

Paul Robert

Deputy Secretary – President of FRCPM Bretagne and trainer at Les Ateliers de l’Enfer

Marcos Bezerra de Menezes

Marine carpenter and IT specialist – Port-Musée of Douarnenez

Florent Brosse

Naval architect

François Vivier

Naval architect – Honorary member

Laurent Lescop

Architect and photogrammetry research director at ENSAN – Honorary member

Our Roots: Douarnenez, a Hub of Maritime Heritage

Since the 1980s, Douarnenez has become a major center for maritime heritage with a strong and diverse network:
The Boat Museum, Treizour Association, FRCPM Bretagne, Le Chasse-Marée magazine, the Port-Musée, Les Ateliers de l’Enfer, Maritime Festivals, Skellig Association…
Scanmar emerged naturally from this ecosystem, building solid partnerships and collaborations.

Our Mission

  • Digitize our maritime and river heritage
  • Provide professional training to increase capacity and broaden skill sets

Our Activities

  • Testing digital surveying tools: cameras, lasers, drones, scanners
  • Surveying:
    • Maritime built heritage (lighthouses, forts, slipways, garum tanks…)
    • Boats: wrecks, dry-docked, floating, under construction…
  • Identifying remarkable or endangered boats
  • Setting priorities and assessing urgency
  • Seeking funding and making financial decisions
  • Evaluating requests and project feasibility
  • Drafting project specifications and defining deliverables
  • Choosing appropriate survey methods
  • Conducting shape recording and processing data
  • Archiving and ensuring access to digital files
  • Outreach and education for architects, historians, researchers, museums, students, model builders, and the public

Our Achievements Since August 2023

  • 3D scanned 80 boats (ranging from 2 to 30 meters)
  • Conducted equipment testing (photographic and IT)
  • Developed survey and image-processing protocols
  • Trained:
    • 1 staff member at the National Maritime Museum of Cornwall (Falmouth)
    • Boatbuilding students at Skol ar Mor and Les Ateliers de l’Enfer
    • Architecture students at ENSAN in survey techniques
    • 1 photographer and 1 archivist during a 15-day internship
    • 1 ENSAN student on a 2-month internship with Scanmar, Le Chasse-Marée, and the Port-Musée
  • Surveyed the yacht Escapade for the Brittany Regional Heritage Authority (DRAC and Monuments Historiques)
  • Organized a digital archiving system

Upcoming Projects

  • Training staff from European maritime museums:
    • Albaola, Basque Maritime Heritage Museum (Pasaïa) – 80 boats
    • Naval History Museum, Arsenal of Venice – 300 boats
  • Creating training modules for:
    • ENSAN students (Nantes)
    • Skol ar Mor trainees (Mesquer)
    • Les Ateliers de l’Enfer (Douarnenez)
    • Aventures Plurielles – FPMM (Marseille)
  • Producing an online tutorial to help users perform usable photogrammetry surveys with simple tools
  • Making our digital archives publicly accessible to researchers, students, museums, naval architects, and enthusiasts… using FAIR Principles