Trouble at Sea!

[Guest]

Hello all at the MM community. This is my first post, and any and all help would be greatly received.
I have a 29' 1976 Ericson, which is my first boat and I have only owned her since the beginning of this year. Naturally, she has an A4.
In general, she motors pretty adequately, except that almost since the day (or second day) I had this boat, the reverse gear was never quite as peachy as I would have liked. In fact it was pretty soft, that is to say inefficient. She never pulled backwards out of the slip as I would have liked, and "walked" sideways almost as much as she was pathetically traveling backwards. Forward gear was fine. Over time, it was wierd putting her into reverse, the motor whined somewhat and I had to ease off and find a spot between mushy and useless. Eventually I would find I had a kt or so to pull me backwards, or I would just push the boat out by hand. Of course I wanted to get this looked at, but I cannot seem to find an A4 mechanic in Oxnard or Ventura, or know where to look for one. And I am dirt poor, and with very little mechanical experience, though usually a DIY guy.
Anyway, recently, my forward gear starting having several "stages." It always had a "soft" forward just ahead of neutral, and a "full" forward, pushed all the way. The soft forward was handy for pulling into the slip, and I would pull the gear lever towards me to ease her down to 2 or 3 kts as we pulled into the marina. But lately, new "stages" appeared. I noticed my full forward was slipping out to a different lower stage, and only by tying the gear lever forward I got her to throttle onwards in what felt like the right rpms, guided partly by the sound of the motor. (I have today read on the forum that this is bad and I must go to the back of the A4 classroom)
Last weekend at Santa Cruz Island (Santa Barbara Channel), my motor failed after a couple of poor anchor-winchings on the windlass. One of my batteries had been weak anyway, but now the other seemed problematic. At the same time there was a little smoke from the motor AND then the gears got stuck. It seemed that the motor would only go forwards, and too fast! Trying to anchor between other sailboats, I shouted at my girlfriend to kill the motor (at this point, her own clutch was slipping). I was preoccupied with hand-lowering the anchor in a good spot, and did not rush back to see if the temperature guage was normal.
Later I tried to look at the motor and only discovered that I was low on oil (but not below the "low" point), that I had a gasoline drip from around the carb, and that I could not change gear with the motor off using the hand lever. Now I was really worried. I had bad batteries, low engine oil, stuck gears, and no way of starting her up, even if it seemed like a good idea, which it didn't.
I decided to risk it all and sail back off the anchor with just enough wind to get us home - then we rounded the point and got hit by a blast from the West which was the strongest favorable (direction) wind I have seen yet. Our usual 5-hour trip took 3 & 1/2! Anyway, we sailed into the slip, I topped off the gasoline, and drove home to think about this and do some research.
Questions: Are these problems a reasonably willing and game (but mechanically inexperienced) fellow can take on by himself? I have the Moyer Marine manual and another A4 manual. Where to start? And if it all goes to hell, does anyone know of A4 mechanics in the Ventura/Oxnard area? Or is my motor seized and dead?
The new lad in A4 land,
Duncan

[marthur]

Duncan,

I say go for it and treat that girlfriend of yours to a big sailing trip with the cash you save!

Seriously, as another sailor who watches his pennies I am very inclined to dig in give it a try. As encouragement I will note that by modern standards the A-4 is simple and robust. It is an easy engine to work on (and you can wreak a lot of parts for the hourly cost of a mechanic). And think of the boost in your self reliance when it starts running again!

My thoughts on the order to tackle things: Get the gas drip ASAP because of the firehazard. You also have to get the tranny going before you go. When the engine is running you can troubleshoot your batteries / charging (put them on a charger at the slip until then).

Good luck,

Mike

[jkenan]

Duncan-

I have a '77 E29, and rebuilt the A4 a year after I got her, as a novice myself. I only tell you this to give you a vote of confidence - the only A4 mechanic you should ulitmately need is yourself! Though it does take time, interest, and some funds, you will utimately be in a much better position by maintaining this motor yourself than by relying on others. I can attest to boatyard woes when I was less knowledable, and now that I am familiar, those charges seem criminal! Not to mention the value of being able to troubleshoot at sea... Anyway, enough of my rant...

Before giving up, read up. This could be a simple case of your reversing gear (FYI, in A4 lingo, this is your tranny) needing a simple adjustment. If it is not set adequately, slippage could occur in forward and reverse. There are detailed instructions in your A4 manual on how to set your forward and reverse clutch adjustment. Read them, and dive in. Also, check the cable bridle where the cables are attached to the engine. If either of these conditions exist, it is reasonable that the engine could overheat by being overworked as a result of not engaging in gear properly.

Let us know how it goes, and Good luck.

[duncan59]

Thanks guys

Mike, John,
Thanks for your advice and support. I do want to get the hang of this A4 thing, for some reason I have never got my hands greasy in the mechanical sense, though I have taken on many other manual skills. I guess its time! Will I need special tools? I guess I'll know when I get stuck in.
I will keep you posted.
Thanks again for the moral support
Duncan

[Kelly]

Hello Duncan,

I cut my sailing teeth in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Oxnard and the Channel Islands. You live in a wonderful part of the world.

I second the two other opinions expressed here that you should not be intimidated by working on the A4. I am on the last leg of major maintenance on my engine and am very happy to have a much better understanding of all the systems involved. My problem is just time, and this may be yours as well. Family and work tend to eat into my grease time

I too think that the leaking gas is your primary concern. Perhaps you could rebuild the carburetor, or at least change the gaskets.

I haven't had to adjust the reversing gear as of yet but the manual seems to be well illustrated and the feedback from this site will get you through any problems/questions.

So, between the manual, this site and parts from Moyer Marine- you're more than ready to tackle your maintenance.

Best of luck,
Kelly