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Hi folks,
I just noticed this part of the site (only joined a couple days ago).
For those of you in the northern NJ/NYC/Western CT area--the dead zone between Moyer and Old Lyme--I thought I'd suggest contacting Dave Van Ness for A4 troubles.
I haven't been in touch with him since he rebuilt my A4 in 2003, but he now has a website so I assume he's still in the game. http://www.vannessengineering.com/
He rebuilt the late model A4 in my boat and did an absolute bang up job, considering:
-It had been under rainwater for an unknown length of time and seized up prior to my buying the boat
-No less than 3 local A4 "experts" suggested it was unsalvagable (2 were Yanmar dealers...go figure)
-Another industrial engines mechanic thought it could be done, but gave up after disassembling it and seeing the condition of some of the parts
-I don't think Dave had worked on many, if any, Atomics prior to mine
At the time, he had a small shop in northern NJ (Woodridge, I think) and he specialized in doing high-end vintage wooden runabout engine rebuilds at his shop. I don't think he did/does much per-hour labor; basically he's the Don Moyer of old Chris Crafts, Gray Marines, Palmers, etc. This was a part-time hobby-turned-job for him when not doing high tech freelance work (if memory serves).
He was also kind enough to travel an hour each way to my boat after I couldn't diagnose a problem and figured his rebuild had something to do with it (nope--the mechanics who installed it into the boat were clearly at fault), so he may be willing to travel to your boat for a price. As I recall, the rebuild cost was in the same ballpark as Moyer and Old Lyme (my only options before I came across Van Ness).
Again, this is 5 year old info but I know how difficult it is to find someone who can help with these engines. He may only do rebuilds, but can't hurt to try him for other help.
And Dave, if you happen to read this, thanks for several happy sailing seasons and please correct anything I've said above!
I just noticed this part of the site (only joined a couple days ago).
For those of you in the northern NJ/NYC/Western CT area--the dead zone between Moyer and Old Lyme--I thought I'd suggest contacting Dave Van Ness for A4 troubles.
I haven't been in touch with him since he rebuilt my A4 in 2003, but he now has a website so I assume he's still in the game. http://www.vannessengineering.com/
He rebuilt the late model A4 in my boat and did an absolute bang up job, considering:
-It had been under rainwater for an unknown length of time and seized up prior to my buying the boat
-No less than 3 local A4 "experts" suggested it was unsalvagable (2 were Yanmar dealers...go figure)
-Another industrial engines mechanic thought it could be done, but gave up after disassembling it and seeing the condition of some of the parts
-I don't think Dave had worked on many, if any, Atomics prior to mine
At the time, he had a small shop in northern NJ (Woodridge, I think) and he specialized in doing high-end vintage wooden runabout engine rebuilds at his shop. I don't think he did/does much per-hour labor; basically he's the Don Moyer of old Chris Crafts, Gray Marines, Palmers, etc. This was a part-time hobby-turned-job for him when not doing high tech freelance work (if memory serves).
He was also kind enough to travel an hour each way to my boat after I couldn't diagnose a problem and figured his rebuild had something to do with it (nope--the mechanics who installed it into the boat were clearly at fault), so he may be willing to travel to your boat for a price. As I recall, the rebuild cost was in the same ballpark as Moyer and Old Lyme (my only options before I came across Van Ness).
Again, this is 5 year old info but I know how difficult it is to find someone who can help with these engines. He may only do rebuilds, but can't hurt to try him for other help.
And Dave, if you happen to read this, thanks for several happy sailing seasons and please correct anything I've said above!