The problem with leaving a logboat out of the water for long is that it dries out and may check or split as a result of the wood shrinking unevenly. Malcolm F. Fry suggests a possible solution to long term storage when he states “One may even suppose that some smaller logboats could have been purposely submerged at their mooring when not regularly in use.” :Fry, Malcolm F. (2000) Coiti: Logboats from Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Archaeological Monographs: No 4, Antrim p.16 (Greystone Press) So faced with the problem of storing my logboat over the winter I decided to test Fry’s idea.
On 10 November 2020, with the help of my good friend Brian Hubbard (Known in the SCA as Gwillim Kynith) I towed my logboat into a remote pond. There we located a spot where the bottom fell away quickly from the shore. We tethered the boat to a tree with a stout rope, filled it with stones until it was just barely afloat then tipped an end under letting it fill with water. As it sank we pushed it away from the shore and into deeper water. Our hope was that it would come to rest deep enough to be under the winter ice to come.
The view upstream towards the pond. 
The rocky shore where we sank the logboat. 
The logboat resting on the bottom. 
My assistant for the day: Brian Hubbard.
On 16 June 2021, we got around to recovering the logboat. With the water level different from when we had sunk it seven months before it was difficult to be certain but it appeared to me that the boat had moved closer to shore. Wether it was the winter ice grabbing the boat or it’s rope and dragging it closer to shore or other paddlers noticing it under the water and hauling it closer to shore to take a look, or some other cause is impossible to determine. In any case we were able to remove the stones, drag it clear of the water and re-float it. The check in the bow had opened even more and water trickled steadily in as we towed it back to the landing. Otherwise it seemed unharmed.
As we found it. 
Brian removing stones. 
Hauled out and drained. 
Afloat again. 
Towing it through the marsh. 
Winching it up the steep bank. 
In the trailer.
The check in the bow seen from the outside. 
The same check from the inside. 
Water seeping in the check once it was put back in the water.
During the summer in the duck pond the logboat, seeping water through the crack in it’s bow, filled and sank several times. The next experiment on my agenda is to compare the effectiveness of dried Sphagnum moss to fresh green Sphagnum moss as caulking material.
The Barefoot SCAdian 
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