Engineering design prior to the age of computers
Published
Not until 1963 were working plans brought into use. Everything was made according to measurements. You had to have insight, see it in your mind’s eye before starting work. The engineers and production workers may have had a sketch to refer to or an old part as a template. Dimensions and angles were always variable.
The work in the forge, in the mechanical workshop and in the woodworking shop had to be adapted to each individual boat – it was no good mass-producing parts.
In connection with repairs and lengthening the workers used the existing boat as the starting point. In the case of major rebuilding jobs and new builds, a half-model of the boat was used, this gave the most important dimensions. The shapes of the ribs were then outlined in full scale on a template floor.
In 1968, the design department was placed under Ulstein Trading (UT). All technical drawing was performed manually.
Today, advanced computers and software are used in design work and production.
