I have had several Cal 25's since 1970. I bought Jack Jensen's Cal Crusing 46 from his estate in 1982 and still have it behind my house on Bayou Chico
N 30 24.329 by W 087 15.767. We lived aboard 18 years, cruised 9 years.
A4ourian Content: I have repaired several A4's that were in Cal boats.
Tom Vandiver, Cal Cruising 46 Hull #3 Satori, Cal 25 Hull # 737 Bravura
Just bought her last September in Middle River, MD. Last October I sailed her down the Chesapeake Bay to her present home. I've spent the winter and spring replacing some of the rigging and doing some work on the A4. She now runs and sails great!
the matty j
second year owner of a 72 cal 29' love the boat, need some love an maintence, sailed it down from conneticut last summer an this cal is everything every cal owner told me what a boat!
I got a 1969 Cal 25 in 1990 and upgraded to my current Cal 3-30 in 1995. I call her Callinectes - the genus for the blue crab. We race an cruise. I have fixed or replaced lots of stuff on the boat, including the infamous beam that supports the compression post. A new head on the Atomic 4, new valves and tooling the valve seats brought the engine back to life.
Just purchased a Cal 3-30...with a stuck A4 motor...plan on at least pulling the head to try to unstick. Anyone removed one lately on this design? Did you disassemble the fixed companionway ladder or go out through the aft hatch? thanks!
I do not have a Cal, however I did by my boat with a seized A-4 and got it to turn while in the boat. That was in 1984 and the lil beastie is still running like a champ.
Don't know how it is to work in the confines of your Cal but if you can get it to spin while in the boat it would save a lot of work. Might be worth creating an access panel.
I would also take this to a separate thread for "your issue" and the Cal guys will chime in there too.
A few details of how stuck it is might help too. Has any work been done to try and free it up yet?
Welcome. I also have a Cal 3-30 built in 1974. They are awesome boats and if sailed and set up right can be fairly fast. Listen to dave and the others here before you take the head off. Many an old A-4 was completely stuck or presumably frozen and they are now chugging along fine with minimal effort. You may need to tear into it but please try the easy way first. Also, there are numerous threads throughout this forum dealing with your issue. Your issue has been resolved with as little as taking the spark plugs out and pouring some Marvel Mystery oil down the holes. I'm serious.
Another reason to try to unstuck the motor without removing it is how the heck are you going to get it out of the boat? The engine was built into it. You would need to disassemble the sink and stairway assembly to get the motor out. Its not coming out of the lazzarette opening, its only 13.5 inches wide. I know this because I had to squeeze a 25 inch wide gas tank out through it.
Comment