Stabilization of centuries-old Daufuskie Island canoe is complete

A team of archeologists from the University of South Carolina took a trip to the Old Daufuskie Crab Company at Daufuskie Island’s Freeport Marina on Friday to check on the stabilization of a wooden dugout canoe dating to the late 18th century and found it in good condition. The team pronounced it ready for the next step of being reassembled and put on permanent display on the island.

The canoe, hand-hewn from a cypress tree trunk, was discovered by Daufuskie Island resident John Hill in 2012. A crew of excavators, led by USC underwater archaeologist Jim Spirek, removed the canoe from the muck of Turtle Island, just off Daufuskie’s Bloody Point.

Since then, the canoe, which broke into several parts during the removal process, has been entrusted to the care of Freeport Marina owner Wick Scurry by the state, which owns the relic. For the last four years, it has rested in an enclosure at the marina’s Old Daufuskie Crab Company, where it spent three years soaking in a solution of polyethyline glycol, or PEG, and a fourth year slowly drying out.

The canoe’s enclosure, called a “coffin” by Scurry, sits as a display along one wall of the dining room of the restaurant under a clear plastic cover that allows curious restaurant patrons to view it. It is surrounded by other historical items and antiques.

On Friday, the cover was removed and Spirek, along with state archaeologist Jonathan Leader and maritime archaeologist Jessica Irwin, took a closeup look at the canoe and said that the stabilization effort has been a success and the canoe is ready to the next step.

“Wick has really been a good steward here,” said Spirek. “He has put in a lot of time, treasure and talent.”

“They’ve done a remarkable job, I commend them highly,” said Leader, of Scurry and his team.

The four discussed options for preserving and displaying the canoe and visited the Bloody Point lighthouse, which is owned by Scurry and leased by the Bloody Point Lighthouse Museum. Scurry said the museum is his top choice to be the canoe’s final resting place. “It will be a centerpiece of the museum,” he said. “The reason it needs to be down there is because it was found near there.” Turtle Island is about a half mile from Bloody Point.

Leader said that wherever the canoe ends up, it will need to be kept in a climate-controlled location to ensure the permanent preservation of the wood.

After a four-year wait, Scurry said he thought it wouldn’t be long before the canoe is put on display. “The hard part’s over,” he said, “now we’re ready to go.”

“I would imagine imagine in thirty days to sixty days, we should have it pretty close to done.”

This story was originally published February 19, 2017 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Stabilization of centuries-old Daufuskie Island canoe is complete."