PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The owners of the Mayflower II say the 60-year-old replica vessel may not be safe for visitors in the coming years if their fundraising goal to finance the ship's restoration is not met.

The Boston Globe reports the wharf-boring beetle has invaded the wood of the Mayflower II and much of the Plymouth-based ship's hull is rotting.

Officials with Plimoth Plantation, the nonprofit that operates the vessel, say approximately 60 percent of the ship's planking below the waterline must be replaced. The Mayflower also needs new framing and a sizable portion of its deck restored.

The nonprofit's fundraising campaign is $3 million short of its $7.5 million goal set for Nov. 15.

Plimoth Plantation officials say the Mayflower II's days are numbered if the necessary repairs aren't made.

The replica of the Mayflower has spent the last two winters undergoing restoration at Mystic Seaport, where the 106-foot-long ship and its massive hull could be seen from the end of Bay Street, and is scheduled to return next winter.

Seaport shipwrights and Plimoth Plantation maritime artisans have surveyed the condition of the ship and began restoration work. This included removing and replacing 130 tons of stone and rusting iron ballast, replacing 300 feet of planking, doing extensive caulking of the seams and replacing the half-deck area and work on the tween deck and topmast rigging.

The work is being done as it prepares to sail in 2020 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims' arrival aboard the original Mayflower.