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Day one of sail boat ownership, I came to find out I had a hole in my head, literally. I have never really introduced myself to the crowd even though I have benefited tremendously from the wisdom shared here. So today I thought I'd share a quick true story that is likely not very different from many I've read here that explains my loyalty to MMI.
I bought a Newport 27 in January of 2007 off a guy from a craigslist ad and while I had no idea how to sail the boat, or what an Atomic 4 was, I did know how to run a motor boat, so I decided to take it out for a run in the Los Angeles Harbor. I got just outside of Angel's Gate when I heard a loud bang, then exhaust noise with gasoline laden smoke pouring up from the cabin. So I immediately shut down the motor before I blew up the boat!
Of course while this was happening, a huge container ship was approaching the gate with 5 blasts coming from his horn over and over. Panicked I ran below, pulled the steps aside and found that the #2 spark plug had disintegrated! Even better, come to find out that #3 spark plug had the same fate some time prior and a broken extractor was stuck in the remains of the spark plug. Desperate, I managed to restart the motor and limped back to my slip in San Pedro on just two cylinders. Looking back, this motor is awesome when you consider the conditions it will operate under. Even in this state, it got me out of a very bad spot.
That evening a fellow was walking by my "new" boat and saw I was somewhat unhappy about my recent purchase. He claimed to be a mechanic who confided that anyone who can change the oil in a car could do much of their own work on an Atomic 4. He recommended Moyer Marine's website and I have been a loyal fan and customer ever since.
So I bought Don's manual (the bible) and set about taking the head off to clear out the spark plugs. While chipping away the rust on top, I found a nice little hole leading into the water jacket. So armed with a new/used head along with a whole bunch of other parts from MMI, got it all put back together and it has been running well ever since. There have been many jobs done on the boat and the motor since then and I regularly research here before diving in to fix or upgrade the engine.
Recently I started having difficulty keeping the temperature under control and so finally tackled cleaning out the water jacket. See that thread in the overhaul section if you're interested. It has been a real concern for many years now, but thanks to the many posts on this board, I decided it was time to get it done.
I have never hired a mechanic to do the work on my A4 and don't plan to, thanks to the folks on this board, Ken the parts guru and the great team at Moyer Marine!
I bought a Newport 27 in January of 2007 off a guy from a craigslist ad and while I had no idea how to sail the boat, or what an Atomic 4 was, I did know how to run a motor boat, so I decided to take it out for a run in the Los Angeles Harbor. I got just outside of Angel's Gate when I heard a loud bang, then exhaust noise with gasoline laden smoke pouring up from the cabin. So I immediately shut down the motor before I blew up the boat!
Of course while this was happening, a huge container ship was approaching the gate with 5 blasts coming from his horn over and over. Panicked I ran below, pulled the steps aside and found that the #2 spark plug had disintegrated! Even better, come to find out that #3 spark plug had the same fate some time prior and a broken extractor was stuck in the remains of the spark plug. Desperate, I managed to restart the motor and limped back to my slip in San Pedro on just two cylinders. Looking back, this motor is awesome when you consider the conditions it will operate under. Even in this state, it got me out of a very bad spot.
That evening a fellow was walking by my "new" boat and saw I was somewhat unhappy about my recent purchase. He claimed to be a mechanic who confided that anyone who can change the oil in a car could do much of their own work on an Atomic 4. He recommended Moyer Marine's website and I have been a loyal fan and customer ever since.
So I bought Don's manual (the bible) and set about taking the head off to clear out the spark plugs. While chipping away the rust on top, I found a nice little hole leading into the water jacket. So armed with a new/used head along with a whole bunch of other parts from MMI, got it all put back together and it has been running well ever since. There have been many jobs done on the boat and the motor since then and I regularly research here before diving in to fix or upgrade the engine.
Recently I started having difficulty keeping the temperature under control and so finally tackled cleaning out the water jacket. See that thread in the overhaul section if you're interested. It has been a real concern for many years now, but thanks to the many posts on this board, I decided it was time to get it done.
I have never hired a mechanic to do the work on my A4 and don't plan to, thanks to the folks on this board, Ken the parts guru and the great team at Moyer Marine!
One thing I don't envy is the cold, cold weather you live with. 
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