Newbie alert!
Hi all...might as well introduce myself and get moving along with things.
My father has decided he's moving to Florida, is done with his boat, and has given it to me. (Uh oh, free boat!)
- I am now the proud owner of a '77 Catalina 30 (hull #511) with an anemic A4. My father, as much as I love him, always did the least amount of maintenance, and spent the least amount of money possible to keep the motor running well enough to get in and out of the slip. I hope to do some cruising with the boat, once we get things in order..he's really only daysailed her a few times a year the last 10 years or so.
This poor motor is going to need some help from all you people. I do know that my father has already enlisted some of Don's services (probably not via the fourm), as the engine has an MMI manifold on it, and in the pile o' stuff that I got with the boat, the MMI A4 manual, with the greasy fingerprints on the pages in the overhaul section with the head, manifold & valves.
I've only heard the motor run for a few minutes, as I haven't sailed on the boat much in the last 5-10 years. I am having frequent e-mail discussions with him to find out what he actually
has done to the motor, and what he hasn't. The thing sounds as though it is running on 2.5 cylinders at any engine speed above idle, and he's complained of sticky valves before. Apparently last winter's winterizing with Seafoam (and I also found some MMO in the chart table) allowed the engine to start right up, but it still runs pretty rough. He has mentioned compression numbers to be inconsistent, he thinks from valves not seating properly. I am waiting for more info from him.
I expect that as I get time to work on the boat, I'll be adding to this thread. My wife and I spent the evening pulling 30 years worth of stuff off the boat. My plan is to do some engine work with the boat in the water and improve the performance before I haul it for winter to let the bottom dry out a bit.
I guess what I am looking for may be a checklist or priority order of things to do and places to start. I am a sorta a motor guy, but not really old enough to know much about flat head motors..my weekend mechanic stuff has mostly been OHC 4 cyl Honda motors. The valves hanging out upside down next to the pistons are something new to me.
One of the other things I've noticed is the entire bilge (I mean everywhere) is DIRTY. I suspect most of this is 30 years worth of oil from the crankcase breather. I think one of the first upgrades is a PCV system of some sort.
So, here we go! Thanks in advance for your advice and help
-Shawn
'77 Catalina 30
Solomons, MD