Hopping onboard HMB Endeavour is like taking a step back in time to the 18th century.

Hopping onboard HMB Endeavour is like taking a step back in time to the 18th century.

The three-masted tall ship is a faithful recreation of the vessel that brought Captain James Cook to Australia in 1770.

Work on the replica began in 1988 in a purpose built shipyard at Fremantle in Western Australia.

She was launched in 1993 and undertook two world voyages before being acquired by the Australian National Maritime Museum in 2005.

The Endeavour is visiting Port Adelaide as part a 13 month circumnavigation of Australia which began in Sydney last April.

Captain Ross Mattson doesn't believe the term replica does the ship justice due to the meticulous way she has been recreated from original drawings.

The sense of history hits you the moment you cross the gangplank onto the waist but it's when you go below deck that you really feel as though you've turned back time.

That's because when she's in port the Endeavour is displayed as a floating museum, just as if Captain Cook and his crew had just disembarked.

The mess deck was home to 64 sailors and is set up complete with wooden barrels, cutlery and food.

Captain Mattson says the hammocks are still used by the ship's crew at sea.

"This ship loves to roll, loves to roll, so a hammock is the best way to sleep onboard the ship."

Making your way to the Endeavour's stern requires some flexibility in a manoeuvre known as the 'Endeavour Roll'.

The reduced headroom means you have to walk bent over and continually watch your head.

Captain Mattson says Endeavour was originally known as a Witby Collier, built at Witby in the U.K. as a coal carrying vessel.

When the vessel was converted and the deck added, headroom was compromised, as it is in the replica.

In fact Captain Mattson says a lot of visitors liken the aft of the ship to a 'doll house' because of the tiny cabin doors and low roof.

Cook's expedition meant the sleeping arrangements had to be changed to accommodate the scientific party.

The officers had to move down one level but were still allowed to use the mess above.

That level also has the cabins of Captain Cook and Joseph Banks together with what's known as the Great Cabin.

Captain Mattson says the Great Cabin is basically displayed as a scientific laboratory.

"This is where the cartography was done, where the plant species were itemised and pressed."

One of the impressive features of the cabin is its gallery windows looking out the rear of the ship.

Captain Mattson says it's not uncommon to have the gallery windows open and see a huge wave coming in behind the Endeavour.

He says the ship has 10,000 square feet of sail, 37 kilometres of standing rig and over 40 kilometres of running rig.

"She is a beautiful vessel."

HMB Endeavour is on display at McLaren Wharf in Port Adelaide until Thursday February 23.

Opening hours are from 10am-5pm with the last admission at 4pm.

Admission is $18 adults, $9 children/concession and $38 for families.