The more systematic excavation-methods used today have thrown new light on this major find. This new measuring-up of the boat was approached virtually as if it had been a new find from an archaeological excavation. In addition to pinpointing the shape of the boat at the measured points, this provided a precise registration of the width and thickness of the boards, their overlapping and the placing and dimensions of the lashing-clamps. The base on which the Nydam boat is currently displayed supplied the basis for the measurements. Corresponding measurements were taken of the boat's bow and stern, and finally the whole boat was studied at one level, with documentation of cracks and splits, the placing of iron rivets and the distribution of the original wood in relation to what had been added later during restoration of the boat.
Original areas are hatched, later insertions are dotted.
The original ribs are only very fragmentary and their placing is uncertain. Although the Nydam boat appears so large and gives the visitor the impression of being a whole boat, the detailed survey revealed large sections of the boat as being of wood which had been inserted later. At the bow and stern the boards are only preserved up to, and including, the second board. The stempost is preserved in its full length, but only the bottom part of the stern is preserved. The ribs, with the exception of the second-end ribs forward and aft, are very fragmentary and their placing is uncertain.