Abstract

In the islands of Old Providence and Ketlina in the Colombian Caribbean, cultural practices associated with the manufactur-ing of wooden boats have been developed, linking the knowledge of the community and connecting its history with its present. Years of specialization and refinement for the development of this knowledge resulted in types of boats such as Canoa, Catboat and Lanch. Being the latter, only manufactured on the islands, with their own designs for the modifications made, which emerged within the dynamics of the Caribbean identity. The processes of transformation suffered by the vessels were the factors that determined them, whether it was due to materials, manufacturing processes and / or construc-tion techniques, as well as sociocultural factors. The identification of the current condition of the wooden boats was obtained from the location, type of vessel, name, owner, constructor, physical characteristics, condition, age of the vessels and their changes over time. To aim this, tools such as illustration, photography, technical drawings and interviews with the owners were used. In total, 28 wooden boats were identified, of which 21 are boats for fishing, with the remaining Catboat, which are recreational boats used for fishing. The semi-structured interviews with the owners, fishermen and builders and apprentices, sought to identify the route of memory, tradition, processes, the importance of knowledge and its relations with the Caribbean. Despite the socio-cultural dynamics since the 20th century, they promoted new practices, as well as the arrival of new vessels, materials and processes. Which has led traditional vessels to a process of replacement and transfor-mation, or in several cases to disuse. But the community proposes that the dynamics of construction and generation of knowledge continue.

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