Greetings folks

[Aj@yknot]

Just joined up because I've very recently acquired a Newport C&C 28 with an Atomic engine, and this boat needs lots of TLC.
I'm old enough to remember facing backwards in the AMC Rambler on the way to the cottage, young enough not to care about the creaks and groans coming from *my* undercarriage, and thrilled to have had the opportunity to grab a sailboat at my age without breaking the bank.
That said I *DO* have some work to do on this girl, starting with a fairly persistent smell of gas in the cabin. (No, not post combustion engine smoke - I've seen the pcv valve thing). There's also a couple of soft deck side leaks that I need to chase down, and I need to figure out how to pin down my fresh water tank before I try filling it (its kinda flopping around under the vberth).

Anyhow, I'll keep reading through the fora and when I have all the info you folks will want to know, I'll open up appropriate posts in the correct areas.

[Dave Neptune]

AJ, welcome to the MMI Forum.

Does your engine have a "scavenge tube"? A rich running engine can produce gas smells.

What year (model) is your A-4?

Lots of info on this sie.

Dave Neptune

[Aj@yknot]

Thanks Dave:

I'm working on collating the relevant info. The hull appears to be 70's era, so I'm guessing its a late model - but I'll confirm that by finding a serial number *somewhere* (either engine or hull).
Yes the scavenge tube is there -- I'm already considering the options on that front. The engine was 'rebuilt' about 2 years ago -- but I'm *fairly* sure it still needs some love.

Aj@yKnot

[roadnsky]

The hull appears to be 70's era, so I'm guessing its a late model - but I'll confirm that by finding a serial number *somewhere* (either engine or hull).

Aj@yKnot-
Some info here about early or late model.

Info from Don's FAQ's...
On late model engines, the serial number is on a flat spot in front of a “boss area'” in the casting of the block, directly above the oil fill tube over the flywheel housing.
On early model engines, the serial number is on the front side of the block directly up from the starter

There is no sure way to relate your serial number to a particular engine manufacturing date. However, there are certain features that you can use to identify the latest engines: The very late group of engines (circa late 70’s) had flat sheet metal flywheel covers. These engines generally had serial numbers starting around 190,000. The very latest engines (circa early 80’s) came with electric fuel pumps, and the blocks of these engines were no longer drilled to accommodate the small push/pull rods used to operate mechanical pumps. You would, of course, need to remove the electric fuel pump mounting bracket to determine whether or not your block had this hole drilled into it. The serial numbers of these engines generally started around 200,000.

The only other way to approximate the date of an engine is to check the manufacturing date stamped onto the carburetor side of the block.
Unfortunately, this date only applies to the date of the block.
In many cases, blocks didn’t find their way into an engine for several years.