We live in Freeport Maine...

[GEM555]

I understand you've decided the engine is beyond hope or otherwise possessed but for the mechanics you've hired to be unable to figure out what is essentially a lawn mower engine with a few more cylinders is more of a comment on the mechanics than the engine. Please realize that there were somewhere around 40,000 of these engines made with approximately 20,000 still in service many decades later. I appreciate these mechanics are professional but all that means is they charge for their services, not that they have the necessary experience or skills and frankly judging by the information you have provided, they don't. It's my opinion and I dare say an opinion shared by others on this forum that they've taken advantage of the situation. Too bad they don't charge on the basis of results instead of unskilled hours.

The mechanic(s) removed the head multiple times? That's ridiculous. If it truly needed to be removed a second time it means they didn't do the job right the first time.

As for no market for a C30 with an A4, consider that the boat is 35 ~ 40 years old so there was no market when you bought it. No surprise there. As an example, I bought my C30 thirteen years ago in sailing condition (meaning complete) with a running engine for $5K. There's your market. What I get out of the purchase and subsequent years of ownership is pleasure equity, not $$.

What I want for you
Either find the skilled local support you so desperately need to be able to enjoy this boat or rid yourself of the aggravation. This is supposed to be fun.

There IS NO support for this engine ANYWHERE along the Maine coast. Period. NO marina will touch it.

It's just that I don't know what to do with what amounts to a 30' paperweight.

[GEM555]

OTOH my wag right now is it froze over the winter and water seeps into the engine when it sits.
Or it could be something totally different
The basic issue is the OP is not enjoying his boat. This is not his job, it is hobby and he seems to have not realized what owning a cruising sailboat entails.

* this reminds me of a friend with a Model A Ford. He quickly learned that if he wanted a reliable car to drive, he either needed to learn to work on it or get a new car because the local shops were not good with cars from 1930 and he couldn't afford the time or money to get the car to a specialist shop that knew the car.

I know several people with cruising sailboats. They all spend minimal time maintaining their engines. All diesel, of course.

[Dave Neptune]

Gem555, I bought an A-4 that was seized while inside an E35 MkII. It took a week to get it running again and it did not fail me once in 34 years and is now serving the new owner.

Not a dis on you however if you settled down and learned to do a couple of diagnostics and possibly post a pic of the engine so it's condition can be seen.

You have seen all sorts of suggestions and we have seen little in actual information. These checks are very simple and once performed an understanding of the beastie will manifest and the use can begin.

I feel if you spent the time you are wasting on mechanics trying to understand the basics you would be up and running.

Get the BOOK, start from scratch and you will be way ahead financially and on the water with "self confidence" one of the greatest values afloat!

The forum is about assistance and learning because it can work.

I suggest another go at it.

Dave Neptune

[joe_db]

I know several people with cruising sailboats. They all spend minimal time maintaining their engines. All diesel, of course.

Diesel engines require maintenance too - done enough of it myself, having owned a diesel powered boat and worked on a ton of others.

If you want a new diesel installed, go for it. If the installation is done right and the routine maintenance is done correctly, the engine should be trouble free for a long time.

If you want a new Atomic 4 installed, go for it. If the installation is done right and the routine maintenance is done correctly, the engine should be trouble free for a long time.

Right now you have an antique boat with an antique engine that has had what seems like poor or no maintenance for a long time. No marina will want to touch it because they assume two things:
1. You won't be willing to pay to fix it right.
2. If they do a band-aid fix to get you going, you'll be back when the engine malfunctions again blaming them.
And this assumes they even have a mechanic that knows anything about these engines, which they may not.

You have some choices here:
1. Come up with somewhere between about $8,000 and $15,000 for a new engine, installed.
2. Continue to pay slips and storage for an unusable boat.
3. Donate boat to charity.
4. Cut the boat up and sell the rig and lead. The keel is worth about $1/pound.
5. Just quit paying the slip fee and ignore all calls from the marina and they'll do #4 for you.

If you don't pick 1 or 2, now your choices are:
A - Pay a lot more money for a much newer boat with a *supported engine*. Old diesels can be all the trouble you have, times 2, plus no parts available and no forums and STILL no mechanic will touch it.
B- Join a sailing club with boats for you to use if such a thing exists there.
C - Buy a much simpler boat like an Ensign or J-80 or similar and sail instead of fix.
D - Find a new hobby that makes you happy instead of frustrated*

* don't choose "buy an old airplane" though. You thing you have expensive issues now

[wristwister]

Gem, if the boat were a few thousand miles to the left, I'd be all over that Cat 30 of yours. I'd offer you $4K for it, you'd probably take it out of frustration, I'd rebuild that engine for ~$1500 and pop it back in, and sell the boat for $12K (going rate for a decent Cat30 with good A4 around here). You need to find a "me" in Maine!

[GEM555]

"The mechanic(s) removed the head multiple times? That's ridiculous. If it truly needed to be removed a second time it means they didn't do the job right the first time."

We found the valves kept sticking and could not be unstuck even with can(s) of sea foam/MMO in the gas. Basically discovered it's a problem with A4 engines.

Thus the multi removal.

I shut off the water before i shut off the engine, replaced the little purge/siphon valve under the sink and fog the engine after each use.

Hope this helps.

[ndutton]

We found the valves kept sticking and could not be unstuck even with can(s) of sea foam/MMO in the gas. Basically discovered it's a problem with A4 engines.

No its not. Who told you that? And didn't we already make it clear adding MMO to the fuel was not a remedy for sticking valves? Yet here we are covering it again.

Instead of continually blaming the engine, consider that sticking valves are the result of a water incursion (not the engine's fault) and sticking after repair indicates a poor repair (also not the engine's fault). Have a water incursion in your new diesel and see what happens.

[GEM555]

Gem, if the boat were a few thousand miles to the left, I'd be all over that Cat 30 of yours. I'd offer you $4K for it, you'd probably take it out of frustration, I'd rebuild that engine for ~$1500 and pop it back in, and sell the boat for $12K (going rate for a decent Cat30 with good A4 around here). You need to find a "me" in Maine!

So far, I've had 5 fraudulent offers and 2 fraudulent cashiers checks for the boat. 3 of them from people in Maine.

[joe_db]

So the boat is for sale?
Are you trying to kluge the engine to run enough to sell her? I think that is probably how you GOT the boat

[joe_db]

No its not. Who told you that? And didn't we already make it clear adding MMO to the fuel was not a remedy for sticking valves? Yet here we are covering it again.

Instead of continually blaming the engine, consider that sticking valves are the result of a water incursion (not the engine's fault) and sticking after repair indicates a poor repair (also not the engine's fault). Have a water incursion in your new diesel and see what happens.

This. When my old A4 had sticking valves it was salt-water rotted and on its last legs. My current engine has never had a stuck valve and neither did the original for the first 2 or 3 thousand hours.

I still think this engine was allowed to freeze and leaks water into the cylinders somehow.

[edwardc]

There IS NO support for this engine ANYWHERE along the Maine coast. Period. NO marina will touch it.

Contact Handy Boat Service, just 10 miles down the road from you in Falmouth. They used to have an A4 expert there named Felix.

http://handyboat.com/contact.html

[ndutton]

Let's get down to it

The vast majority come here looking for help and/or advice and we are happy to do the best we can. Rarely if ever does someone come here to tell us our assistance is unwanted and to malign and complain about an engine that has proven itself over several decades. I implore you to either sell or donate this boat for your sake and the boat's.

I still think this engine was allowed to freeze and leaks water into the cylinders somehow.

Entirely possible but we really don't have the necessary evidence to conclude this nor should we expect to get the evidence.

Admin with his finger on the button, dump it if I crossed a line.

[joe_db]

The news the boat is for sale changes things too. I get the freezing idea from the manifold having what sounded like freeze damage.
To the OP:
Buy this https://maine.craigslist.org/boa/d/2...666971065.html

[GEM555]

So the boat is for sale?
Are you trying to kluge the engine to run enough to sell her? I think that is probably how you GOT the boat

No. If I could get the engine reliable I would probably keep the boat. When I first had trouble, I got two quotes from two different marinas for a diesel engine replacement - 20K and 23K. And of course there is no way 20K is going into a 1984 Mk1 hull.

But I have "limited" mechanic skill and this is Maine. Not the place to go boating if you are on a budget.

[joe_db]

How much WOULD you pay for a reliable engine?
Give us a number and we can work up a solution (or not).
How much did you pay for the entire boat in the first place?