Institute of Maritime History

Only late yesterday did we discover any definite fasteners on top of the keel. Attached is a close-up of a wooden peg, or treenail, in the center at the top of the keel. We only found two of them, both at the northern end of the vessel. Perhaps they attached a stem or sternpost.

It has been a flurry of activity in Seal Cove. We mapped the entire wreck with the exception of a timber that we will record tomorrow. We had volunteers lending a hand all week. As many as nine at a time. It has been a success as an outreach project, with several people having their first experience in maritime archaeology on the wreck. Volunteers learned trilateration, baseline offsets, drew profiles, measured frames and photographed fasteners. I gave a talk on maritime archaeology at the Schoodic Education and Research Center Wednesday night.

We are well underway here in Maine, mapping the Seal Cove wreck. Placing a non-intrusive baseline proved problematic, but we were lucky to have two large boulders nearby to tie into. Since the wreck is in the intertidal zone, we can only work when the tide lets us. Each day has seen two shifts of mapping and numerous volunteers, from Acadia National Park staff to members of the local community. We have both east and west sides of the vessel mapped from zero to 38 feet. So far the most intriguing feature is the use of treenails, or wooden pegs, to hold the outer hull planking to the frames.

As part of the Seal Cove Shipwreck Project we are going to be recording a shipwreck in the intertidal zone in Seal Cove, Maine, August 1-5. This is an IMH project in conjunction with Acadia National Park. Learn the basics for mapping and documenting a wreck site by working with maritime archaeologists.