The non-instrument rated pilot was on a flight from Ironton, OH to Daytona Beach, FL with an en route stop at Columbia, SC. He obtained a weather briefing prior to departing Ironton, but did not update it after landing at Columbia. The aircraft crashed on the 2nd leg of the flight in an area where a line of thunderstorms had passed through. Based on the cruise speed of the aircraft and its distance from the departure point, the plane crashed at about the same time the thunderstorms had occurred. The initial impact occurred in a marshy area next to Hermitage Island. Tire prints were visible at low tide in the marshy ground. After the initial impact, the aircraft continued 110 ft and hit a large palm tree on the island and was destroyed. The right fuel tank was ruptured, but the left tank remained intact and contained fuel. An examination of the wreckage was made, but no preimpact malfunction or failures were found.