Launchpad McQ's Catalina 30 Atomic 4 Saga

[Launchpad McQ]

Hello fellow A-4ians! It’s finally time to give back to the community for all of the wisdom, advice, and encouragement I’ve gleaned from this forum. This thread has been years in the making, literally. For the past 3 years, I’ve been lurking in the shadows, reading dozens of threads while learning, fixing, tinkering, tweaking, tuning, and sometimes cussing at my Atomic 4. My original intent was to document the rebuilding process and then “thread dump” the entire entertaining narrative with pictures so that it could be read chronologically without interruption from humble beginning to victorious end, and all would be the wiser. It hasn’t worked out as planned.

If you’re reading this thread you probably fall into 1 of 2 camps: Camp 1 is the number of experienced, helpful, friendly, and frequent contributors to this site reading for entertainment. To this group I want to say thank you. Without you all, this engine and possibly the entire boat would be in a San Francisco scrap yard. However this thread is really written for those in Camp 2. Those considering fixing up an old boat with an Atomic-4 and looking at that block of rusting metal wondering, “what did I get myself into?”

If you’re in Camp 2 and reading this thread for perspective, or maybe even motivation (like I usually did) let me assure you that when armed with the combined wisdom of this forum and a little resolve, anyone is capable of rebuilding, maintaining, or improving an Atomic-4 powered boat. Seemingly all of the common “problems” you could ever encounter with this engine have already been thoroughly identified and the necessary repair techniques well documented (valve sticking, overheating, poor performance, etc) on this forum by the collective braintrust of frequent contributors People often say, “If I can do it anyone can do it.” Believe me when I say my IQ pales in comparison to most of the chimpanzees at the zoo so there’s no excuse to be intimidated by the tasks. Without further ado, grab a beer and some popcorn because this is going to take a while. Here’s my saga:

***Late 2019 Update*** If you'd like to skip the backstory of all my clueless ill-fated attempts to fix the engine that ultimately led to a full-rebuild, skip to the bottom of page 3 to see the motor getting pulled out of the bilge.

[Launchpad McQ]

In 2013 after much discussion with my wife, I accepted a job in San Francisco. The only problem was that we live in Denver and for a variety of reasons, didn’t have any intention to relocate. The job would require frequent travel and I would only be in San Francisco a couple days a week. Therefore, I needed a place to sleep and didn’t want to spend that time in hotels. A friend working for the same company suggested, “Why don’t you buy an old crappy sailboat off Craigslist? You can fix it up when you have time, sleep on it a couple nights a week, and when you’re done with it you can just sell it and get your money back.” The seed had been planted.

The Craigslist search turned up a handful of boats under our modest $6500 budget but whenever I was able to get a seller to commit to a meeting, there was always some serious deficiency with the boat that would require significant time, money, or both to rectify. (One boat had suffered a fire, then sinking, and still sported a one-inch hole in the hull). Having lived in Colorado my entire life, I didn’t know much about boats but I did know one thing; we could not afford to pay someone else to fix whatever problems we inherited with our purchase. Then one day it appeared:

Me: “Honey I found our future boat!”
Wife: “How much?”
Me: “$6500! Its within our budget!”
Wife: “If it doesn’t need any additional work…..”
Me: “How much work could it need? It says the motor was rebuilt in ’09. I’ll bet it just needs a new set of spark plugs and some gas!”
Wife: “Seriously, the motor is called an ‘Atomic?’ Don’t you see the irony in that?
Me: “Yeah I’ll bet because it’s so powerful, like an Atomic reactor!”
Wife: “What is ‘Standing Rigging’?”
Me: “I don’t know but it’s standing!”
Wife: “What does ‘haul-out’ mean?”
Me: “I don’t know. Maybe it’s sailing slang for partying on a boat for 2 days straight, ya know, like, ‘hey everybody lets get some beer and go out for a haul out!”
Wife: “What’s a ‘Genoa’?”
Me: “Isn’t that like pepperoni but more expensive? You know I don’t cook fancy stuff.”
Wife: “No, it sounds like part of the boat, and apparently it’s torn. How much is that to fix?”
Me: “Why are you being so negative!? It has BBQ grill! I mean a real BBQ, like, for BBQ-ing! I’m going to go look at it. I’ll call you after I’m done.”
Wife: “Okay just don’t buy it before we talk about it more.”
2 Hours later….
Me: “We’re boat owners honey!”



....and so it began.

[Hymodyne]

"like an atomic reactor" That made me laugh. Welcome to the madness.

James

[sdemore]

I need a "like" button

[lat 64]

Oh yea, it's time to break something!

I mean, like:
break a bolt,
break some skin,
Break Out Another Thousand,
Break out the beer.

Lookitmeeeeimonaboat!

[GregH]

Oh yea, it's time to break something!

I mean, like:
break a bolt,
break some skin,
Break Out Another Thousand,
Break out the beer.

Lookitmeeeeimonaboat!

...in that order..

[Launchpad McQ]

Armed with a six-pack of Fat Tire, an In-N-Out double-double "Animal Style" cheeseburger, teriyaki beef jerky, a bottle of Simple Green and some rags, I naively thought I had everything I needed to whip our new ‘yacht’ into shape. Soon I’d be swashbuckling my way up the San Francisco bay with my proud wife by my side, helm in one hand, a beer in the other. “Ahoy sweetheart! There be landfall! What say ye lass we moor up on the Embarcadero and fetch ourselves some crab cake sandwiches?” In hindsight, the only analogy I can conceive to illustrate how utterly clueless I was to every part of that dream I had concocted, would be the idea of a junior varsity quarterback showing up to an NFL training camp and expecting a starting position. In my defense, the Craigslist ad said “rebuilt in 2009” so I figured a can of carb cleaner, some new spark plugs, and I’d be back in business. As I soon discovered, I'd need the beer more than anything.



In order to gain better access for the engine autopsy I removed the galley cabinet assembly and set it aside. In the ensuing years of engine work yoga, I'd come to appreciate what a tremendous luxury we Catalina 30 owners have when it comes to engine access compared to our companionway-engined brethren.



This being the first boat I’ve ever owned, I had little understanding of what I was even looking at, or where I should begin my troubleshooting. “Why does the exhaust pipe go into a white plastic box?” (Water lift muffler) “Why is there a rubber trailer plug with wires in the engine compartment?” (Catalina engine wiring harness) “Why is the engine painted vomit-green?” (Still don’t know) These were just a few of the questions I had. As I surveyed the engine compartment for any obvious abnormalities I stumbled upon what could’ve ended up being this boat's (and my) demise. The previous owner had carelessly routed the gas line from the gas tank to the electric fuel pump next to the hot exhaust hose which had chafed through the outer sheath and almost into the core. I didn’t know much about boats, but I knew what an incredibly serious accident that could've resulted. With that single discovery, it was obvious that I couldn’t trust anything the previous owner had done to the boat.

[ndutton]

Well, well, well

Wow, a rare U shape dinette layout. Here are a few more things to check, many of them critical:

• Lower chainplates - if you have the U bolt style you're good. If they are the square top single hole style they need to be changed ASAP, available from Catalina Direct
• Wood spreaders - must be checked for rot especially at the inboard ends under the aluminum cheek plates. Some owners convert to aluminum (Catalina Direct again), others replace with wood.
• The engine harness trailer plug you've already seen - you have at least two in the harness, possibly a third. Get rid of 'em.
• Catalina factory waterlift - it's known for cracks and leakage at the base.
• Aft lower knee bulkheads - known for rot and yours are the originals. Better check the main bulkhead while you're at it.
• Mast compression post support in the bilge - known to rot as well.
• Anti-siphon between the engine and the exhaust hot pipe is missing. The factory installed one, looks like whoever did the engine work removed it. Good way to backflood an engine.

There, that ought to get you going.

[lat 64]

Re: "...thought I had everything I needed to whip our new ‘yacht’ into shape", That's just the inventory kit.
Re: "...a starting position", Heck, you're the captain now.
Re: chafed fuel hose, This is why it's a VERY good plan to sit and stare at your engine while enjoying a Fat Tire. And, a good time to reflect on why the Coast Guard in their wisdom requires such a short distance from fuel pump to carb on gasoline inboard engines; It is so that for most of the length of the routed fuel hose, it has negative pressure—it sucks. If it develops a leak, and it will, it then sucks air into the line, not squirt fuel out so much. The faltering engine will demand repair from you so it DOES get fixed.

Re: Simple green, kinda stinks. After you get it cleaned up, I'd switch to good ol' vinegar. It outgases in a few hours, and is easier on the respiratory ailments of guests. Cheap and enviro-friendly too.

Re: "...of that dream I had concocted", That's why I even bother to get out of bed every morning. Keep on that.


Russ

[Launchpad McQ]

Hi Neil! I figured you'd drop by before too long. As always you hit the nail on the head, and our Catalina is no exception to the laundry list of standard "old Catalina 30" deficiencies. We're only partially through the list of remediations and unfortunately most of the chainplate repair work will need to wait until we have a running, reliable, Atomic 4 able to assist us in getting back up to the boatyard. (We've apparently discovered the limit of the "unlimited" BoatUS towing insurance. More on that later)

Lower chainplates - if you have the U bolt style you're good. If they are the square top single hole style they need to be changed ASAP, available from Catalina Direct

We have the original square-top, single hole to be addressed:


For any new Catalina 30 owners possibly in the audience, here's a thread that provides a good summation of why the original chainplates deserve attention

https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/c30-chain-plate-surprise.180844/

so this doesn't happen...

Wood spreaders - must be checked for rot especially at the inboard ends under the aluminum cheek plates. Some owners convert to aluminum (Catalina Direct again), others replace with wood.

Ours are the original (sitka spruce?) wood. I don't have any pictures of those to share because most of our immediate problems have been below deck, in the general vicinity of the engine compartment so that's been the majority of my photojournalism efforts. I plan on replacing the wood with the aftermarket aluminum spreaders whenever we end up taking the mast down.

The engine harness trailer plug you've already seen - you have at least two in the harness, possibly a third. Get rid of 'em.

Already gone like the 2017 Broncos playoff hopes All of our wiring was especially atrocious (yes that’s a wire nut used as a splice) so those got replaced early in the project. More on that later.

Aft lower knee bulkheads - known for rot and yours are the originals. Better check the main bulkhead while you're at it.

Ours aren't too bad. Pictures to follow.

Mast compression post support in the bilge - known to rot as well.

Yep, we've got the rot and the associated compression post/mast settling. That'll be addressed when the mast comes down.

Anti-siphon between the engine and the exhaust hot pipe is missing. The factory installed one, looks like whoever did the engine work removed it. Good way to backflood an engine.

That's all done too. I'll probably have pictures and the story for that somewhere around upcoming post #356. Haha

[sastanley]

Nice..keep up the good work.

[Launchpad McQ]

Before I get too far, I should be specific regarding exactly what the problem was as I knew it. I purchased the boat from the previous owner with the engine in a "no-crank, no-start" condition. Zip, zero, nada when I turned the key. The PO claimed he had "taken the boat to his 'car guy' over in Alameda who had 'rebuilt' the engine." He said that he then motored/sailed it back to his slip in Redwood City (15-ish miles down the Bay) where the boat sat for *awhile* unused. When he attempted to start the engine after the hiatus, it wouldn't start and out of frustration he purchased a 4hp Mercury outboard, installed it on a pivoting transom mount and called it a day. I know, I know,...now. I should've seen it coming a mile away. Why didn't he demand his mechanic fix it? Why did he "give up" after just having "spent all that money on a rebuild?" What exactly did the "rebuild" entail? All valid questions. Truth be told by this point hotel expenses were adding up, I wasn't finding any other suitable boats on Craigslist, and I was getting impatient. When the PO agreed to drop the price to $5k, I thought the price drop would cover any repairs necessary to make the engine operational. (Not even close)

With my limited mechanical knowledge at the time, I started my troubleshooting with the starter. The first car I ever owned was a 1976 Chevy 1/2 ton 4x4 pickup with a 350 V8 who's starter bendix had a tendency to "freeze up." My remedy was always to hop underneath and smack it with a hammer while a friend would turn the key which usually worked. Not this time. I was met with the frustrating sound of silence every time I turned the key. About this time my dock neighbor happened to stop by and seeing my obvious frustration, offered to take a look. What followed was an all-to-common conversation which I'm sure many here have had. It went something like this:

Well-intentioned dock neighbor: "Oh, its an Atomic 4? I thought it had a diesel. Are you sure you want to bother fixing that old thing?"
Me: "Well, I have to. It's what the boat has and I don't have the money to repower with a diesel."
Well-intentioned dock neighbor: "Well, I mean, you could probably find an old diesel on Craigslist for a couple grand. Just drop one of those in and you'll be set!"
Me: "I only paid $5,000 for the boat to begin with."
Well-intentioned dock neighbor: "Even better! When you're done, the boat will be worth $10,000!"
Me: "I don't have the tools, time, or knowledge to do that. Besides, I want to start using the boat, like, soon."
Well-intentioned dock neighbor: "Be careful with that Atomic 4. Those things are dangerous. It's a gas engine after all. They have a tendency to catch on fire. In fact, they all catch on fire. Every one of them. Yours will catch fire. It will burn, the boat will explode, you'll be launched over the Golden Gate like Evel Knievel's failed motorcycle jump at Ceaser's Palace, the Coast Guard will pull you out of the water in a Jayhawk helicopter, give you a fine for negligence, and you'll be the laughing stock of the marina for the next millennia."

Okay so he didn't exactly say that but pretty much. And many other well-intentioned dockside "helpers" would too in the months to come. However, my neighbor did impart some wisdom when he asked "Do you know if the motor even turns?" Ummmmmm, uhhhhhh, no I didn't. I noticed a pin on the front of the crankshaft that looked like I could fashion up a socket and breaker bar set-up and turn the motor by hand. (No I didn't know Moyer Marine, or this forum existed and that Moyer sells a tool exactly for turning the crank when I went through all this trouble) So I "modified" a perfectly good 14mm socket with my Dremel to slip over the crankpin:



Yank! Push! Ug! Marf! Wouldn't ya know it, the engine didn't budge. Time for a bigger breaker bar! Yes! That'll do it!



To know what would happen next, you don't need to be a rocket scientist but you need to be smarter than I was. The engine didn't so much as squeak a tiny bit loose but the feeling of sudden rotation was from 1/2 of the crankpin shearing off. Sh#%*



So there I had it. Learning had occurred. Apparently when an internal combustion engine sits idle in the marine environment for too long, the pistons and various other moving parts can become immobile. This just went from a simple "spark plugs and gas" fix, to something much more. My dock neighbor suggested removing the spark plugs, squirting some Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders to soak the piston rings in hopes of helping them unfreeze from the cylinder wall. I figured $3.88 of Marvel Mystery oil was a cheap gamble, so I squirted some in every few days for a month while I turned my attention to other things.

To be continued...

P.S. I know these posts are a little lengthy but I'm in no rush with the narrative since I'm still in the midst of a rebuild. However for the A.D.D. crowd, I thought a Clif Notes summary of what I learned and what I'd do differently could be helpful. So....

What I learned

• Many sailors have an irrational prejudice against the Atomic 4 but can't point to specific examples of catastrophe vs its diesel counterparts

• The people who possess the knowledge to help you fix an A-4 are more likely on this forum than on the dock..unless one of the frequent contributors here happens to be on your dock

• Engines shouldn't sit unused for a long time. More boats seem to suffer problems from disuse rather than overuse

What I'd do differently

• Ask the seller more questions about the boat's history/maintenance/ etc

• Search the Moyer forum for an existing thread pretaining to the problem at hand. Failing that...

• Call Moyer and talk to Ken

[ndutton]

Marine engines won't seize just from sitting idle. There had to have been water incursion into the combustion chambers and/or crankcase. With the crankshaft roll pin sheared off I don't see any way this will be resolved in situ. The engine is coming out of its hole sooner or later, may as well get after it.

In addition to getting things unseized you have to find the source of the water incursion or risk it happening again. Possibilities are manifold breach, head crack, water jacket breach, over cranking with the thru-hull open and maybe a few more I've overlooked.

If you decide to try and repair it in the boat you can fashion a pretty decent work bench with a couple layers of 3/4" plywood over the engine space. As a lifting means use the main halyard and a block & tackle, come-along or whatever sparred out by the boom (boom in compression only, all engine load borne by the halyard-tackle rig). The main hatch is plenty big enough to give you a clear shot at the engine. Be sure to check the forum archives for lifting eye shortcomings on older engines.

[alcodiesel]

"More boats seem to suffer problems from disuse rather than overuse"
So wise for so young.

Welcome to the forum, or whatever it's called, Johnathan.

[wristwister]

Jonathan, thanks for keeping us updated with your detailed posts. I am indeed interested in your progress with your A4, as it looks like you and I may be doing A4 overhaul's simultaneously. In my case, my daughter just bought a sweet Tartan 30 in the bay area with a bad A4, and I'm about to take on a rebuild of one to swap in. I also own my own Tartan 30 with a perfectly running A4, so I'm getting to know this old iron pretty intimately.

Good luck and keep up the progress posts!