Mystic — The shipwrights, riggers and others who work in the Henry B. duPont Preservation shipyard at Mystic Seaport didn’t have much time to rest on their laurels.

Just months after completing the 5½-year restoration of the whaling ship Charles W. Morgan and preparing it for a triumphant voyage to historic New England ports this past summer, they are back at work on another high-profile vessel: the replica of the ship that brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620.

The Mayflower II is operated by Plimoth Plantation. The plantation’s deputy director, Richard Pickering, said there’s a simple reason why the ship is at Mystic Seaport.

“This is a ship I dearly love, and I want to make sure it got the best care possible,” he said, standing by the ship just a few days after it arrived at the Seaport. “There’s no finer facility to do this work than this shipyard.”

“Mystic’s reputation is stellar. That’s what they do — work on wooden ships,” added Plimoth Plantation spokeswoman Sarah Macdonald. “They’re a living history museum like us, so it’s a wonderful fit.”

Pickering, who worked at the Seaport from 2002 to 2006, pointed out that the Seaport has a ship built in 1841, the Morgan, that is in pristine condition. He said he foresees the 57-year-old Mayflower II returned to a similar condition.

Whit Perry, the Mayflower II’s  captain and Plimoth Plantation’s associate director for maritime preservation and operations, said that as a child he came to the Seaport 15 to 20 times and as an adult visited it on many occasions aboard boats.

“It is incredible to not only be restoring the Mayflower but to do be doing it at Mystic Seaport. For boat lovers, this is the place to be,” he said.

“For two outdoor living  history museums to collaborate on a project like this is news in itself,” added shipyard director Quentin Snediker.

While the Mayflower II is a replica — unlike the Morgan, which is an original vessel — Snediker said the ship “is historically important in her own right.”

“It’s important we maintain that historical integrity. It was built by master shipbuilders (in England) and a tremendous amount of scholarly research went into her design,” Snediker said.

He said it also helps illustrate the Pilgrims’ ordeal. 

“It’s one thing to read about the experiences of the Pilgrims, but to be surrounded in three dimensions by the full-scale object has that much more of an educational impact. It shows how it was for these people,” he said.

During a tour of the ship last week, Perry pointed to where the 102 passengers shared cramped living space in the middle deck of the ship during the two-month voyage from England. 

“Can you imagine 102 passengers living in here for 66 days?” he asked.

After the Pilgrims spent the winter aboard the ship, just 53 of the passengers and half of the estimated 30 crewmen were still alive.

The Mayflower II’s construction in  Brixham, England, was financed by donations from the English people.

“Great pains were taken to make Mayflower II as accurate as possible, and the ship was constructed from carefully selected English oak timbers, handsewn linen canvas sails, hemp cordage, hand forged nails and Stockholm tar, all of the sort used on 17th century ships,” according to a history of the ship provided by Plimoth Plantation.

According to Plimoth Plantation, the project was envisioned by Englishman Warwick Charlton, who “wanted to  commemorate the historic ties between England and America which were strengthened by World War II.” Plimouth Plantation agreed to maintain and exhibit the ship.

“It’s the story of the Pilgrims, but it’s also the story of Anglo-American relations after World War II because the ship was a gift,” Macdonald said.

Snediker said conversations about restoring the Mayflower II began with Plimoth Plantation in the fall of 2013 and escalated after the Morgan was launched.

“She’s in relatively good condition but spread throughout the vessel are some significant elements of need,” Snediker said.

Last week the rigging was removed from the 106-foot vessel and on Tuesday it was hauled out of the water and placed on blocks. It now looms over nearby Holmes Street much as the Morgan did for five years.

During a tour of the ship last week, Perry pointed out the 70 tons of stone and crumbling iron ballast stacked 4 feet deep that must first be removed from the hold and stockpiled in the shipyard.

“That will allow us to inspect the bottom and the framing,” Snediker said.

“Then we’ll develop a plan of attack and prioritize our work over the next few years,” Perry added.

Snediker said the “first priority will be to make her watertight, so freshwater intrusion will not have any more damage.” This will involve the painstaking work of caulking and seam filling.

Perry pointed to areas where fresh water had leaked into the ship from above.

“Fresh water is the killer of ships,” he said.

The marine surveyor who worked on the Morgan and the USS Constitution will also survey the ship.

Much of the work is expected to involve replacement of framing and planking. Perry pointed out where many of the structural “knees” or wooden braces have cracked and need to be replaced.

Both Perry and Snediker said they are not sure how much of the ship’s original wood will have to be replaced until the ballast is removed. Both museums have collected oak for the project.

Snediker said the Seaport has hired back some of the craftsmen who worked on the Morgan project to work on the Mayflower II project.

The shipyard is also busy restoring the steamship Sabino, which takes passengers on tours of the Mystic River. That work is slated to be completed in 2016.

Several Plimoth Plantation employees will remain at the Seaport to assist the shipyard with the restoration.

Macdonald said Plimouth Plantation has received a $2 million grant from the state of Massachusetts for the work.  She said the survey of the ship will determine  how much additional fundraising is needed.

Because the Mayflower II is such a big part of not only Plimoth Plantation but the town of Plymouth, it will remain in Mystic only until mid-May. 

That is the driving factor in deciding how much work can be done this winter. The ship will return to Mystic in future winters so the restoration can be complete in time for the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival, when the boat is expected to make some type of voyage, according to Perry.

“When the ship was away (for repairs in Fairhaven, Mass.) in 2013 from mid-March to May, waterfront businesses reported they were down 36 percent. She is the anchor of much of the waterfront activity in Plymouth,” Pickering said. “Our guests save to make a trip to see the Mayflower. It’s the replica of the ship that brought their ancestors here. To have it be away is devastating to their emotional connection to the ship.”

Macdonald said 350,000 people visit Plimoth Plantation each year and the majority of those visit the ship. Many others stop to see it on the Plymouth waterfront.

When the Seaport reopens Feb. 14, 2015, after its winter shutdown, visitors will not only be able to watch the work being done on the Mayflower II, they will also be able to go on board.

Pickering said Plimoth Plantation will eventually have its own interpreters at the Seaport to discuss the ship’s history with museum visitors.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Twitter: @joewojtas