GLOUCESTER, Mass. – A restored piece of maritime history was scheduled to visit port this week, en route to its home in Plymouth Harbor next to the Mayflower II.

The 33-foot Fuller shallop, a replica of the shallop aboard the original Mayflower, was scheduled to arrive here Thursday, tie up next to the schooner Ardelle and host public viewings over the weekend.

The shallop was restored at Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts, according to Michael De Koster, executive director of Maritime Gloucester. It was christened and launched on April 28 in the Merrimack River.

“This is a tremendous honor for Maritime Gloucester to host this historic piece of American maritime history at our pier,” said Koster.

The shallop was expected to be met in Gloucester Harbor by a flotilla of local vessels including two schooners, other wooden work boats and some gig rowers. The vessel is expected back in Plymouth Harbor on June 19.

Maritime Gloucester scheduled several events to coincide with the visit, including public viewings, demonstrations and a lecture on the now-finished restoration of the Mayflower II.

Capt. Whit Perry, commander of the Mayflower II and maritime preservation and operations director for the Plimoth Patuxet Museums, the steward of both the Mayflower II and the Fuller shallop, was scheduled to give the talk.

The Fuller shallop is a replica of one brought to America aboard the Mayflower in the 17th century and what the Pilgrims used — by oar and sail — to explore the coastline of what now is Massachusetts.

It was the vessel the Pilgrims used to discover Plymouth Harbor.

Shallops were designed as heavy, beamy vessels that allowed the Pilgrims to transport heavy items while affording the strongest possible safety. The original was stowed aboard the first Mayflower during its trans-Atlantic journey in 1620 from England.

In 1957, the British, in a gesture of thanks to their American allies in World War II, built and launched the Mayflower II in England. The ship was sailed to the United States and presented as a gift.

Around the same time, the reproduction of the original Mayflower shallop was built at the Plymouth Marine Railways in Massachusetts and greeted Mayflower II when it sailed into Plymouth Harbor in June 1957.

Time and elements took their toll on the Mayflower II and its restored shallop. Last year, the Mayflower II completed a three-year restoration.

Sean Horgan writes for the Gloucester Daily Times.