The HMS Bounty, the star of “Mutiny on the Bounty” has returned to Boothbay Harbor. The 1962 replica of the historic HMS Bounty will be in the area for approximately four weeks while undergoing repairs at the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard.

A small crowd gathered Monday to watch the boat being hauled out of the water and into the cradle at Boothbay Harbor Shipyard.

Boothbay Harbor Shipyard President Eric Graves said that the Bounty is a familiar sight on the docks.

“This boat has been here many times,” he said. “I think about 8 or 10 years ago the yard did a new bottom on the boat. That was a major refit. 

“Five years ago we rebuilt all the topsides, from the waterline-up is mostly new.”

This time, the Bounty is in Boothbay for smaller repairs.

“She has some bottom work and caulking to do, topside planking,” Graves said. “Also, we’ll be refitting new fuel tanks and water tanks and some minor systems work.

“It will be about a four week haul-out.”

The 180-foot tall ship is a replica of the famed HMS Bounty, which in April, 1789, suffered through a mutiny which ultimately led to the original ship’s sinking near the Pitcairn Islands in the South Pacific.

The replication Bounty was built in the early 1960s in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

The ship has had a 50-year movie career, and in addition to “Mutiny on the Bounty,” it has also been featured in 1989’s “Treasure Island,” 2006’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and 2007’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.”

Working on historic and impressive boats is something the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard is only happy to do, Graves said.

“Big, traditional wooden vessels are our mainstay,” he said.