William Bradford's classic account of the Mayflower does not mention the ship by name, nor does it describe the vessel. A model in Pilgrim Hall at Plymouth gives the ship's dimensions as 90 ft. long, with a 64 ft. keel, 26 ft. beam, and a hold 11 ft. deep. In 1957, a close
replica of the Mayflower, the Mayflower II, was built by
England as a gift to America, and sailed from Plymouth,
England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where it is now on
view. This is the only time the Mayflower II has sailed across
the Atlantic. The voyage took 55 days.
Since then, this recreation of the Pilgrim's famous vessel has
been little more than a floating museum, confined to its pier
near Plymouth Rock, rarely leaving the dock, and when it
has left, it has mainly reached its destination by tug. Modeled faithfully after the slow and cumbersome merchant vessels that sailed the waters between England and Europe, the Mayflower II lacks the most modern conveniences, including an engine. It is hard to steer and has an unsettling habit of rolling with sea.
In 1964 the ship went on a brief sail, and crews unfurled her sails briefly in 1990 and 1991, after the square-rigged ship went through major renovations to make her more sea-worthy. In 1992, the MayflowerII won approal to carry passengers after Congress passed special legislations to loosen some of the Coast Guard's strict certification guidelines. That year, the Mayflower II led a procession of Tall Ships through the Cape Cod Canal. At the end of the year it left on a 4-month tour to Florida, however the ship was usually towed and very little sailing took place. The Plymoth Plantation which runs the Mayflower II as part of its living history, has added radios, navigational equipment, electric bilge pumps and life vests.
On July, 1995, the Mayflower set sail again to commemorate the 375th anniversary of the original Mayflower's arrival to the New World.
