The Linda Carol might not look like much these days, but owner Bill Mullis of Gloucester is confident she’ll be a showpiece by next summer.

After the 1931 buyboat was towed from New York last August, she sat at Mullis’s dock on the Ware River until recently, when she was towed, with Mullis aboard, to the York Haven Marina in Poquoson. There, she’s being worked on by Captain Dave Rollins; his son Dan, a metal fabricator; and Sid Ensley, a retired clammer and all-around handyman.

Several weeks ago, Mullis said that the men had already removed the pilot house and the port and starboard hulls and were getting ready to take off the machinery.

“We’re doing the deconstruction as quick as we can,” he said.

The reconstruction will take much longer, though, since the crew intends to “cut every frame and board to fit.” They’ll use white cedar, fastened with silicone bronze screws instead of galvanized spikes, then they’ll fiberglass ...