Our "new" Gardner engine on the dynamometer

[BruceK]

Here`s a summary of Gardner history from Wikipedia. Sketchy, but some help.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Gardner_and_Sons

 

[Kit_L]

Lovely, Bruce. Saved. One day, a Gardner for me.

 

[MarkPaul]

Go the Gardners! My only reservation and reason for not buying a Gardner powered vessel in Australia, is the dearth of experienced "old school" mechanics. I know that they are simple and repairable, but the current crop of (Australian) mechanics are from the "unbolt and replace part" school rather than the "repair it" universe.
Gardners will live on forever, if you or your technician understands them.

Please keep discussion to a minimum, less they become too desirable. Also, please don't mention Kelvin diesels to our American friends. They are very happy with their Caterpillars et al.

 

[Kit_L]

Mark, I thought there were two factory trained Gardner mechanics in your area? And yes to Kelvins; I came close to buying a boat with one of these beauties a couple of years ago.

 

[MarkPaul]

Mark, I thought there were two factory trained Gardner mechanics in your area? And yes to Kelvins; I came close to buying a boat with one of these beauties a couple of years ago.

There's a couple of good guys, yes, but so much in demand there's a 2 month wait to see them. Not sure about "factory-trained", but they have extensive experience in rebuilds and repair. Probably easier to get an audience with the Pope or a date with Taylor Swift.

These Brisbane based Gardner mechanics fly all over the country as well, to fill in where there's no local talent. A few months ago I spoke to them after they returned from Hobart, Tasmania where they had spent a week working on one vessel. I can only guess what their invoice would look like.

 

[Mako]

I'm not overly familiar with the Kelvins, but I definitely love the Grenaa low speed engines, and would consider one over a Gardner. However for our application I could not justify the price tag of $120k for a 3 cylinder 160hp, although that was packaged with the CPP (the gearbox is integrated into the engine).

 

[Southern Boater]

These Brisbane based Gardner mechanics fly all over the country as well, to fill in where there's no local talent. A few months ago I spoke to them after they returned from Hobart, Tasmania where they had spent a week working on one vessel. I can only guess what their invoice would look like.

The Bryant brothers are excellent mechanics, and there were in fact several trips into southern Tasmania to complete the repair due to numerous unforeseen delays, not by the Bryant’s.
The owner of the vessel is also next level fastidious, and the result could be a winning entry of a national hot rod show, the deep gloss finish and colour perfection on the engine is incredible, and of course runs perfectly.
They did hang around some extra days to also do other local Gardner owners work, more urgent commercial fishing boats that needed to get back out to sea again.

 

[Kit_L]

It was the Bryant brothers I was thinking of, and I have only heard good things about them.YYMV, of course.

 

[Insequent]

There is a 62' motorsailor berthed a few boats down from me at present. First pic shows a pair of Gardner 6L3 engines (18 litres each). Second pic is the boat at anchor somewhere.

 

[Southern Boater]

It was the Bryant brothers I was thinking of, and I have only heard good things about them.YYMV, of course.

Hard working guys, don’t stop till the job is done, and quality work.

MarkPaul mentioned the difficulty in getting these guys to start the job, but to be honest where can you find anybody any good to start a job immediately, especially with “old school” skills. The days of the multi skilled boat guru’s are quickly coming to an end, there doesn’t appear to be much enthusiasm for the younger generation to learn the trades and actually stay in the trades long enough to perfect them.

I recently moved my boat 300 miles by sea to get some electrical work done by an 85 year old “guru” over seven months, an absolute privilege to be able to work alongside him as his assistant, learned so much, but of course the skill will all be lost soon.

 

[MarkPaul]

Hard working guys, don’t stop till the job is done, and quality work.

MarkPaul mentioned the difficulty in getting these guys to start the job, but to be honest where can you find anybody any good to start a job immediately, especially with “old school” skills. .

Hey Southern Boater, I agree but with "ordinary" diesels you don't need to fly "rock star" mechanics from one end of the country to the other. I'm guessing that your lovely Sea Ranger has Ford Lehmans (or similar)? Like the ones in our old dear GB, these industrial/tractor engines are not as refined as a Gardner or Kelvin but nearly as efficient, reliable too and much easier to find mechanics for. Anyone who has fiddled with an old tractor can fix them. Parts are way cheaper and more easily available.

When someone asks me about my boat's engines I tell them it has a couple of old British diesels. ?

Enjoy Tassie

 

[MarkPaul]

It was the Bryant brothers I was thinking of, and I have only heard good things about them. YYMV, of course.

Hey Kit, I wasn't mentioning names, but seeing as though it's out there, Mainline Diesel Engineering do a great job too. Also in Brissie They will rebuild Gardners and add the polished/bling thing if that's what lights your fire. One boat I know even has a large window into the engine room for mechanical perving of a blinged Gardner.

 

[Southern Boater]

Hey Southern Boater, I agree but with "ordinary" diesels you don't need to fly "rock star" mechanics from one end of the country to the other. I'm guessing that your lovely Sea Ranger has Ford Lehmans (or similar)? Like the ones in our old dear GB, these industrial/tractor engines are not as refined as a Gardner or Kelvin but nearly as efficient, reliable too and much easier to find mechanics for. Anyone who has fiddled with an old tractor can fix them. Parts are way cheaper and more easily available.

When someone asks me about my boat's engines I tell them it has a couple of old British diesels. ?

Enjoy Tassie

I’m hearing you MP, folks get starry eyed about Gardners, and as expected on a trawler forum, they get plenty of admiration. I’ve never owned one but used them on a commercial boat, chugging along at a whopping 900 rpm.

The Sea Ranger has the 3208 naturals, and at 3000 hours, should see me out anyway.

Like most here, I’m a fan of the GB, and the 42 is a great all rounder. Maybe even do some cruising in the Deep South some day?

 

[Kit_L]

@southernBoater said,

I recently moved my boat 300 miles by sea to get some electrical work done by an 85 year old “guru”

I'm about to go 600nm North, for the same reason (although my guru is quite a few years younger). Same principle, though.

 

[Southern Boater]

@southernBoater said,



I'm about to go 600nm North, for the same reason (although my guru is quite a few years younger). Same principle, though.

Wait till it cools down a bit, it gets very hot around Bundy this time of year. Well, hot for a Tasmanian anyway.
Sounds like a nice run up a great coastline

 

[Delfin]

I would have loved to have a Gardener just because they are so beautiful, and have a great service history. However, with over 1,000,000 engines built and easy parts availability worldwide, I'm happy with my Cat 3306B. Built for the North Slope oil project, it's designed to run at idle without gumming up, making it ideal for low rpm trawler cruising. 50,000 service hours are possible with good maintenance, which means it may outlive my great grandchildren.

But I sure like the looks of that Gardner...

 

[MarkPaul]

I’m hearing you MP, folks get starry eyed about Gardners, and as expected on a trawler forum, they get plenty of admiration. I’ve never owned one but used them on a commercial boat, chugging along at a whopping 900 rpm.

The Sea Ranger has the 3208 naturals, and at 3000 hours, should see me out anyway.

Like most here, I’m a fan of the GB, and the 42 is a great all rounder. Maybe even do some cruising in the Deep South some day?

My bad guess. I know of another Tasmanian SeaRanger 46 fitted with Ford Lehmans. Give Simpatico a wave.

Happy with the GB42. She's a 1980 model, so needs care and attention. My wife calls it a floating men's shed. Aussies will know what she means, and it keeps me occupied between trips. Like a lot of launches: not a "trawler" in Australia unless it tows nets, it doesn't inspire confidence in big seas. Windows are a weak point and deck hatches don't dog down, etc. Good enough for coastal hopping with a careful weather eye.

Love to get to Tassie again on her one day. We cruised there, including west coast and Bass Strait islands on our sailing catamaran BC [before COVID/ Children, (grand)].

There should be plenty of mechanics that have extensive experience with Cat 3208s. They used to be used in graders and trucks. No poured white metal bearings, like the older Gardners. Good engines even if you can't watch them slowly go round and round at 900RPM!

 

[Southern Boater]

My bad guess. I know of another Tasmanian SeaRanger 46 fitted with Ford Lehmans. Give Simpatico a wave.

Happy with the GB42. She's a 1980 model, so needs care and attention. My wife calls it a floating men's shed. Aussies will know what she means, and it keeps me occupied between trips. Like a lot of launches: not a "trawler" in Australia unless it tows nets, it doesn't inspire confidence in big seas. Windows are a weak point and deck hatches don't dog down, etc. Good enough for coastal hopping with a careful weather eye.

Love to get to Tassie again on her one day. We cruised there, including west coast and Bass Strait islands on our sailing catamaran BC [before COVID/ Children, (grand)].

There should be plenty of mechanics that have extensive experience with Cat 3208s. They used to be used in graders and trucks. No poured white metal bearings, like the older Gardners. Good engines even if you can't watch them slowly go round and round at 900RPM!

Well it is a small world in the boating community, I know Simpatico well, and sounds like you get around a bit yourself.
I reckon you’ll agree that the longer you spend around boats, for your own sanity, the more you need to compromise, perfection is a fantasy

 

[slowgoesit]

We certainly love our Gardner! Approximately 1,240 hours since September of 2021, and she just keeps chugging along! We've had issues with ancillary equipment, but none with the engine itself, knock on wood

 

[Southern Boater]

We certainly love our Gardner! Approximately 1,240 hours since September of 2021, and she just keeps chugging along! We've had issues with ancillary equipment, but none with the engine itself, knock on wood

She looks quite the setup in the engine room Scot, looks like a late model alternator and I guess the usual Gardner PTO for hydraulics?

 

[slowgoesit]

She looks quite the setup in the engine room Scot, looks like a late model alternator and I guess the usual Gardner PTO for hydraulics?

The alternator is a recent addition. A Balmar 210 amp, with external regulator de-rated via the ext reg to 60%, or 135 amps. The hydraulic pump drives either the bow thruster, or the 12kw generator. The engine drives a Hundested CPP (controllable pitch propeller).
Still need to do clean-up and updating in the engine room, but it's getting there . . . . slowly . . . .

 

[Southern Boater]

The alternator is a recent addition. A Balmar 210 amp, with external regulator de-rated via the ext reg to 60%, or 135 amps. The hydraulic pump drives either the bow thruster, or the 12kw generator. The engine drives a Hundested CPP (controllable pitch propeller).
Still need to do clean-up and updating in the engine room, but it's getting there . . . . slowly . . . .

Nice arrangement, cosmetics are something you can focus on after the cruising is finished, just stay with functionality and enjoy the experience, something many won’t because they are being to fussy about appearances and the boat will never be ready to leave port