Yanmar 1 GM engine adventure!

[Ardenfour]

1450? I don't think they produced that many. Mine's is 42. Later ones had a raised rounded moulding around the hull/deck joint. Clansman had the heads located in the forepeak. I've only ever seen 3, and each one had a different rigging setup.

 

[Ubergeekian]

Hi - don't want to be responsible for thread drift but ...
I've just taken delivery of a lovely boat with a 1GM10. Do they all make a rather loud knocking sound with each stroke? No nasty smoke, not sure about oil consumption yet. I'm going to check everything on it and run it for a couple of hours later today and see how it copes. I do think it's loud though particularly because I'm sure I read somewhere that they are quiet.

Mine was very noisy when I got it. After a professional service (I know, I know, but my time is limited and the boat was 300+ miles away) it starts instantly and purrs quietly to itself.

 

[Ubergeekian]

Hi, our Arden does not have a seperate cabin, it is open. It has the usual berths below the hatch with the galley and toilet in the centre between the mid bulkheads and then a forward berth but it is all open otherwise. The sail number is 1450 C, so i wondered if the C denoted Clansman? Thats if the sail number belongs to the boat? I have tried to contact Hulley marine with no luck. R.

1450C sounds like a Clyde sail number. They are all listed at http://www.cyca-online.org.uk/a1.pdf - 1450C is "Arden Gypsy", an Arden 4. Familiar?

 

[Raymie]

1450C sounds like a Clyde sail number. They are all listed at http://www.cyca-online.org.uk/a1.pdf - 1450C is "Arden Gypsy", an Arden 4. Familiar?

Thanks everyone for your help. The 1450c sail number would make sense as long as the sails originally belonged to the boat, although the Arden 4 plan that was posted certainly is exactly the same as our layout, As for the name "Arden Gypsy" we didnt know anything about that as it bears the name "Laro" now. Anyone know where to find the hull number?
R.

 

[Raymie]

After many hours work on the cylinder head the Yanmar 1GM is running as it should with no oil consumption within its first hour of trials compared to 1litre per hour before strip down. The starting has improved as the valves have been reground, it now starts first press of the button and ticks over nicely.

As for the Arden, yes it is an Arden 4. We contacted the builder, George Hulley (Hulley Marine), who confirmed (with our information) the year of the boat, as well as telling us that he built another two Ardens for the same man in 1963, he even remembered the name of the boat as "Arden Gypsy" We asked about hull numbers and apparently they were not issued with numbers at all, although he could tell us the number of Arden 4s built where 67 in total.

 

[Aja]

Rosy Glow...

It must give you a nice warm feeling to own an Arden 4 and yet 40+ years after it was built contact George and be able to discuss the boat with him. He has an encyclopeadic (sp?) memory about all these things and although can be a bit shirty has a wealth of knowledge on boatbuilding.

Regards
Donald

 

[Raymie]

Arden 4

My brother and i went through to Hulley marine today to see the man who made Arden yachts back in the late fifties to mid sixties, George Hulley. He is in his 80s, sharp as a tack and still running his marine business in Dumbarton. He gave us chapter and verse on the Arden design, very helpful and fascinating.

It turns out that our boat was one of his own he kept for the charter business he was running at the time, he even remembered the name "Arden gypsy" produced between 1963/65, he couldnt remember the exact date.

He went on to tell us that he started in 1959 making Ardens in wood, totalling 13 boats, he showed us the plans for the design. Then from the early sixties until 1966 they were produced in GRP by a company in England (not Ridgeway marine at that time) then transported to Helensburgh for fitting out.

George even told us that in the early days he made the lead keels himself by hand but then farmed the job out to a company as it was rather difficult. He confirmed to us that 67 Arden 4s where made between 1959 and 1966, with a further production in 1971/2 of only two fitted out in scotland, although i am sure i have seen at least three of this model. The later model had the rounded deck and smaller rubbing strip.

He did finish by saying that the later hull was a better boat, probably because of development as GRP construction was in its infancy in the early sixties. On a final note we asked him about the Arden Clansman? He said "we made two of the model, they where terrible things with poor interiors that would be best avoided"

We have promised to take "Arden Gypsy" to him when it has had its refurbishment but we got the impression that he had maybe seen enough of Ardens in his time. R.

 

[Raymie]

Its been a while since my last post but just thought i would drop a line to say that Arden Gipsy is undergoing an extensive restoration after a more than enjoyable seasons sailing. Detailed pictures very soon, scary stuff as we have found major problems with this little ship!!

Raymie.