Mystic — Mystic Seaport announced Thursday that it will soon begin a multiyear restoration of the Mayflower II, the Plymouth, Mass.-based replica of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620.

The project comes six months after the Seaport competed its multiyear restoration of the Charles W. Morgan, which culminated this summer with the world’s last wooden whaling ship sailing to ports around New England.

The 57-year-old Mayflower II, which is owned by Plimoth Plantation and is one of Massachusetts’ most popular tourist destinations, is slated to depart for Mystic in the next few days. If repairs go as planned, the ship is expected to return to Plymouth in late May of 2015 so it can go back on display there for the tourist season.

While the Seaport has just signed a contract for the first year of work, Seaport spokesman Dan McFadden said Thursday he expects the ship to return for additional work over the next two winters until the restoration is complete. The goal is to have the ship ready to sail for the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim’s arrival in 2020. The project has also resulted in the Seaport hiring additional shipyard workers.  

Once the ship arrives, it will be hauled out of the water, have its bottom cleaned and a detailed survey will take place before any restoration begins. The survey will determine the scope of the work that is needed. The firm of Capt. G.W. Full & Associates of Orleans, Mass. — the same firm that surveyed the Morgan and the USS Constitution — will survey the Mayflower.

Plans call for removing the ship’s stone and iron ballast for the first time since it was built, allowing inspection of the bilge area. During its stay here, museum visitors will be able to watch the work taking place in the Seaport shipyard and go aboard the ship. McFadden said the museum will encourage people to come and see the ship while it is here.

“That’s another benefit of having it here,” he said. 

The Seaport and Plimoth Plantation will be collaborating on the repair and restoration.

“Mystic Seaport is the clear choice for restoring Mayflower II. She will be in good hands with the Museum’s skilled craftspeople and shipwrights. The staff and boards of both museums share pride in this collaboration and profound respect for this treasured ship,” said Ellie Donovan, Plimoth Plantation’s executive director in the today’s joint announcement with the Seaport.

Seaport President Steve White said, “We are very excited to have the opportunity to help restore Mayflower II, so she can continue to tell the story of the Pilgrims and their brave journey to America.”

He added, “Part of our mission at Mystic Seaport is to pass on the skills and techniques of traditional shipbuilding and historic preservation to the next generation, and projects such as this enable us to fulfill that goal while at the same time supporting an important member of the history museum community.”   

The two organizations said the restoration plan “will honor the ship’s original construction and use traditional methods with the goal of restoring the ship to her original state when she first arrived to Plymouth in 1957.” Plimouth Plantation has already secured the large pieces of live oak, which can be difficult to find, for the initial work from locations in Kentucky and Rhode Island. During the Morgan restoration, the Seaport amassed a large amount of live oak from the southeastern United states. 

Inspections last year found the ship needed a “major refit,” which the groups said is normal for an almost 60-year-old wooden ship. Plimoth Plantation had already completed some major repairs so the ship could continue operating on the Plymouth waterfront.

j.wojtas@theday.com   

Twitter: @joewojtas