Two Montreal university students are hoping to solve a nautical mystery involving a shipwreck found off the coast of Quebec in 2003.

Researchers believe the shipwreck could be the Ste. Anne, a merchant vessel that sank three centuries ago in the St. Lawrence waterway.

The ship was leaving New France for France, carrying a load of furs, when it sank in 1704.

However, a thousand ships have gone down in the St. Lawrence River due to the area's rugged coast, meaning identifying a particular one has its difficulties.

That's where students Vincent Delmas and Mathieu Mercier Gingras come in. The two are graduate students in the University of Montreal's marine archeology department.

"It's like a puzzle and it's interesting because we have to continue to look for answers," said Delmas.

One of the clues they're basing their research on is small but important: a piece of planking held together by tree nails.

Tree nails were wooden pegs used in shipbuilding. Unlike metal nails, tree nails didn't cause wood to deteriorate over time, and when exposed to water they expanded, providing a tighter grip on planks.

The nails found on the plank would be right for a ship that sunk in the 1700s.

Gingras, Delmas and other researchers are now analyzing the plank in hopes of uncovering how old it is as well as what sort of wood the plank is, which could provide a clue as to where it came from.

However, there is a slight hitch.

On a second expedition to the shipwreck, researchers found sheathing on a plank. Ship sheathing was a technique developed in the 19th century where a ship's hull was coated in copper to limit corrosion from salt water.

"That ship sheathing like that is a technology from the 1800s, so that might not be the Ste. Anne," said Gingras.

But researchers say they will continue their testing and if the ship in question isn't the Ste. Anne, then the next step will be determining what ship it is.

With a report from CTV’s Genevieve Beauchemin in Montreal