Elmer MADE IT!

[roadnsky]

Trump-
I'm going to chime in here and echo my shipmates' comments.
Stick with us and you'll be surprised how fast AND how much you learn!

One suggestion...
Don't worry about asking ANY question!
In fact, be selfish and be a pain in the arse. Ask a LOT of questions!
It will help the group to help you more.
AND there aren't any dumb ones.

We've all been where you are at one point and you (we) are very fortunate to have this incredible tool literally at our fingertips.

Finally, if you re-power with a diesel, you don't really solve anything.
You'll have to learn that engine too.
PLUS, you will still have the wiring, cooling, tranny, plumbing, prop, shaft, etc issues to deal with anyway AFTER spending a huge amount of boat bucks.

If you'll put in the time, there is nothing like the confidence you'll gain with the knowledge of this great engine.

[domagami]

I see.... a lost connection

Elmer;

Like it or not, you are now our pet project. You will conform, you will be assimilated. Resistance is... well, besides futile, it's slightly entertaining for us.

Chin up, you HAD it running, so you know it works. Repeatedly.

You may still have problem areas to deal with later (aka 'preventative maintenance'), but right now you have an immediate issue that could turn out to be fairly minor, even trivial.

You had a battery that turned the engine over on the day of the move, yes? So it's PROBABLY not the battery, but you should monitor it. Have a meter to check it? I've found it helpful to have one on board. If nothing else, it will settle your mind if you can take this component out of the concern, and let you move on down the chain to find the issue.

Others here are better experts, but it sounds like a connection. Make sure those are secure. If you lose an electrical connection while underway it can be bad news for the system. (eg. if you have a master switch, don't flip it off while the engine is running, etc.)

Make sure you have photos of every angle, and label each part with tape or something before you start taking things apart.

Am guessing you'll be running again shortly, and dishing out advice on this forum by this time next year.

Best,

MD

[David Masury]

Like the others, don't give on the A4. As you go along checking the various connections etc... take you battery out and have it checked... it just may not be good, I just replaced two.

David

[Baltimore Sailor]

At its most basic: if you turn the key and nothing -- I mean absolutely nothing -- happens, it ain't the engine. It's upstream: battery, connections, solenoid, etc.

From there it's easy. Check the voltage on the battery: 12.5 V? GOOD. Less? BAD. (Edit: this may not be completely true. My battery showed under 11V yesterday and she fired right up; so let's say "less than 10.5V" as a lower limit.)

If BAD, get new battery and try again. If GOOD, test cable from battery to switch (if you have one; if not, from battery to starter): continuity? GOOD. No continuity? BAD.

If BAD, replace cable and try again. If GOOD... well, I don't know how to test a solenoid, but if it's getting 12V and nothing is happening, that's BAD.

You see how the process works.

Now, if you get to where you're getting 12V to the starter and it's turning over and nothing's firing, we start a new process. But let's get through this one first.

Have at it!

[Baltimore Sailor]

This post is for absolutely no reason other than to get my post count to 400.

Carry on.

[lat 64]

Q: Do we capitolize Diesel?

Howdy,
Engine died suddenly and won't even crank.
Hmm.
Either ignition switch wire fell off while motoring or.,..
You tourqued the pooch and forgot to open the seawater intake in your excitement to get to the slip; thus overheating and seizing the engine rings solid. This second option is bad but still not a deal breaker. Personally I don't think this happened because you would have had more symptoms of overheating and engine failure before it finally quit. Did you?

I vote for the first; that the wires are bad somewhere.
Don't rule out two or more problems to show up at the same time in an old engine—ie. wires falling apart all over the engine room.

Shawn seems like your best help right now and I would stock up on beer for him.
As far as diesels are concerned:
I also like diesels so I look at this as an economics question.

$900 boat + $10,000 diesel = $11,000(or more) old Catalina w/new running engine.

$900 boat + $5,000 Atomic-4 total rebuild = $11,000(or more) old Catalina w/running engine.

$900 boat + $2,000 Atomic-4 overhaul = $11,000(or more) old Catalina w/running engine.

$900 boat + $20 ignition switch = $11,000(or more) old Catalina w/running engine.

We all worked hard to get ours running and I think that it would be great if we could pass on tips to help you avoid too much exasperation.

Good luck and have fun with your new declared minor,

Russ

[Baltimore Sailor]

Howdy,
Engine died suddenly and won't even crank.
Hmm.
Either ignition switch wire fell off while motoring or.,..
You tourqued the pooch and forgot to open the seawater intake in your excitement to get to the slip; thus overheating and seizing the engine rings solid. [snip]
Russ

Even if the engine was totally seized, wouldn't you still hear the click as the solenoid tried to engage?

[lat 64]

Varoom, click click

Balt,
Right. We just need more info. Mister Trumple needs to produce a white paper complete with observations, data sets, empirical evidence, color of engine, and anecdotal analog comparisons to give us the jive to sift through.

Maybe like Car Talk. "So Bethany, what sound did it make when it went kablooey"

[sastanley]

Those car talk guys are hilarious.

Trumplestilskin needs to go read up the posts from when "QuickMick" started here..we got him going - he's probably toured the entire TX coast by now.

[roadnsky]

$900 boat + $10,000 diesel = $11,000(or more) old Catalina w/new running engine.

$900 boat + $5,000 Atomic-4 total rebuild = $11,000(or more) old Catalina w/running engine.

$900 boat + $2,000 Atomic-4 overhaul = $11,000(or more) old Catalina w/running engine.

$900 boat + $20 ignition switch = $11,000(or more) old Catalina w/running engine.

Russ-
How come all of your possible solutions always add up to 11K?
Do you work for the government?!

[lat 64]

$11,000 is about how much a grad student can spend on a car and still have dosh for the pub. That was the only criteria I used.

New survey:
How much would you guys pay for a mid seventies Cat 30 with a running engine?

[ndutton]

What price?

How much would you guys pay for a mid seventies Cat 30 with a running engine?

It depends:

Engine painted all purdy?
Electronic ignition?
FWC?
Indigo prop?
Tall or short impeller?
Ubiquitous manifold hot spot?
AC's or Autolites?
MMI manual on board?

and in consideration of another thread currently running,

Hole in the shaft log? (sorry Shawn, but we're thinking about you)

[roadnsky]

It depends:
Hole in the shaft log? (sorry Shawn, but we're thinking about you)

If you asked Shawn, that hole should be about a 10k discount?
Double sorry Shawn. We ARE thinking about you...


(Sorry for the hijack Trumple. We're just waiting for you to get back to us)

[sastanley]

New survey:
How much would you guys pay for a mid seventies Cat 30 with a running engine?

$10.00 ? That's what I paid (1/2 of the $20 lunch I bought when the title was signed over.) No offense taken, and as you all know, I am still paying

There is a huge disparity in prices due to the wide range of overall vessel condition. Even though it looked bad, the engine did run in my boat, but really only needed some TLC (clean carb, fuel pump & fuel system) were the main improvements. However, I am sure if a surveyor had looked at my boat, he would have recommended I run away.

[lat 64]

$10.00 ? However, I am sure if a surveyor had looked at my boat, he would have recommended I run away.

Yea, My boat was a bit more worn than I first thought too.

I really have no idea what boats are worth in your part of the world.
All this price talk was to make a point about the value of giving that ol' a-4 one more chance.
But, if a diesel has to be installed then it might still be a good plan because Elmer was got pretty cheap to begin with.

Shawn, I didn't know you got such a deal too. I paid 16,000(Alaska is a tight market) for my vintage plastic boat and I rationalized at the time that I was getting a sailing boat for the price of a bare hull, so all the stuff I have to fix is not getting me down. I've often said, to get a $20,000 boat you have to start with $40,000.
Back in the seventies I read that people were buying boats as investments! I wonder what they were smoking?

I think we really highjacked this thread for good. I think the host has slipped out the door and left us to blathering

Hope you are sailing soon,
Russ