Treatment of a dugout canoe

I was recently asked to inspect a dugout canoe and provide a
proposal for storage, fumigation, and/or treatment. My experience
with waterlogged wood is limited and I am hoping someone may have
suggestions about basic care and handling of this artifact. The
owner of the canoe is a small historical society with little funding
and small staff, so the simpler the approach the better.

The history of the canoe is sketchy. It was apparently excavated in
the 1960s from a muddy site near a lake in northern Indiana. People
recall that it was treated by the state's department of natural
resources, but no one knows who treated it or with what. The dugout
canoe is approximately 19 feet long by 24" wide by 8" thick. It was
shaped from one large log. No tool marks are evident but there are
charred portions of wood remaining where the interior must have been
burnt out.

The sides of the canoe have almost completely eroded away. There are
numerous longitudinal cracks in the log. The canoe is very heavy,
due in part to moisture in the wood. The top surface of the canoe
feels fairly firm and dry to the touch. However the underside is
quite damp and the wood is spongy and rotten. When touched, small
pieces of wood crumble away. This artifact has been stored in a
historic building and more recently was left outside for few months,
covered in plastic. It is now stored resting on several logs inside
a barn. Any suggestions about its future care would be appreciated.

Laura Reutter
Associate Conservator of Objects
Indianapolis Museum of Art
1200 W. 38th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46208
317-923-1331 ext.157

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 11:39
                Distributed: Thursday, October 23, 1997
                       Message Id: cdl-11-39-010
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