Ariadne was armed with initially eighteen, later twenty-four, 32-pounder carronades on her gundeck and a pair of 9-pounder cannon as chase guns.

She was converted into a 26-gun post ship at Plymouth Dockyard in January–May 1820 by the addition of quarterdeck, with further six carronades, and forecastle to the original flush-deck construction, and fitted for sea in March–August 1822.

Chapman was court-martialed and dismissed from the service in June 1826 for having purchased a female slave and brought her aboard,[5] but he had been relieved by Captain Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence earlier in February, by which time the ship was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet.

Ariadne was paid off in November 1830, but recommissioned for service on the North America and West Indies Station that lasted until 1835.

The ship was refitted as a coal hulk in November 1836–February 1837 for service at Alexandria, Egypt, and was sold for scrap there on 23 July 1841.