New to the block

[ccbear95]

Wife and daughter just bought an abandoned 77 Catalina 30 with the mighty Atomic 4. Boat has been sitting in dry storage for 12 years. Of course I've been elected to bring back to life. Should be a lot of fun.

[SubtoSail]

Welcome!

Is this your first A4? Either way, the Moyer maintenance manual is an absolute must have.

I think the FAQ page, https://moyermarine.com/faq/, is a great place to start making your plan and learning about the engine. Under "general information" there are questions about resurrecting an old engine and "a general approach to troubleshooting" that will likely be relevant.

Be sure to post your questions and experiences, they will definitely help someone else in the future. Good luck!

[Al Schober]

Welcome to the forum. We're here to help (or at least try).
Cat 30 is a great boat for coastal cruising. Roomy for two (or a small family) and well built. Hopefully the boatyard cats didn't get in during storage.
Tell us more about the engine (that's why you're here). Does it rotate? What works, what doesn't?
Oh yeah, photos are good (but not too big). While you're posting a message, scroll down a bit to 'Additional Options'. Click on 'Manage Attachments' and go from there.

[sastanley]

ccbear, Welcome. Personal curiosity since I have a '77 also...what hull number??

I have done it. Mine was not on the hard but almost sinking when I got it 10 years ago (edit..oops. 12 years ago.) It is possible. I did not know anything about A4's until I found this forum..I still have the original motor in my boat..we can help. I only got a Facebook account last year for the very reason to find boat parts for my C-30 that did not include motor parts..I also recommend you join the Catalina 30 group on FB. While the FB A4 engine group is OK, they often point you here. For engine stuff, here, for all other junk..here or FB..there are a lot of C-30 owners on this forum and this crowd is not as harsh as those other places.. No question here is dumb if you don't know the answer.

edit again - I will make one comment about this forum. I have found it better to NOT make a bunch of different threads/posts in the several different sections about all the stuff you are working on. A thread in the "general interest" area seems to work the best and we can follow one thread for your boat..I always go to https://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/index.php , and it shows the latest 20 threads or so...all the regulars keep up and one thread helps keep track of your progress..one man's opinion.

If you have a specific in-the-weeds problem, I might suggest starting a post in another area, but I log in several times a week as do most others and one thread is easier to follow.

[ccbear95]

Thanks

Thanks to all who welcomed me. Wife and daughter got lucky with this one, it was stored in doors and no wildlife got to it except for a few mud dobber wasp.

Only thing so far I have found with the engine is the fuel system, 12 year old gas does not smell well. Will have to replace everything in regards to fuel system.

Engine does turn and looking at cylinder with scope no rust and oil is nice and clear.

Plan is to rebuild carb, replace fuel pump with electronic, change ignition to electronic.

[TimBSmith]

Welcome. Here is the photo album of my first ever carb breakdown and cleanup..

1974 engine had only been sitting for 2 years. Completed carb rebuild this fall.

Used the service kit here:

https://moyermarine.com/product/carburetor-zenith-factory-service-kit-fcar_594/

My carb is late model Zenith with 5 bolts

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6hEzNuvpMshSYB4U6

Some of these photos annotated. Some starred as favorites. Mostly my own security blanket and learning/study documentation.


Did not have Moyer Manual during breakdown. Had it delivered before reassembly. (Helpful) And there was a ton of help in the archives here and interactively through email exchanges.

These documents were shared with me so I am paying forward in case they are useful. Happy Holidays. Stay well.

[ronstory]

Only thing so far I have found with the engine is the fuel system, 12 year old gas does not smell well. Will have to replace everything in regards to fuel system.

...

Plan is to rebuild carb, replace fuel pump with electronic, change ignition to electronic.

With you new electric fuel pump, you could pump out the tanks into 5 gallon containers through a Mr. Funnel fuel filter and water separator. See short demo link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5exQCUaBc7I

I had stale gas on our boat from the PO and pulled out and filtered about 1/3 of tank and mixed that with ethanol-free gas and ran it through the IH Scout. It doesn't mind marginal gas.

I refilled the tank with what was left of the filtered old gas and have been topping off with ethanol-free 87 octane and a bit of MMO. The A4 has been happy with that blend.

Be prepared to change your Racor and polishing filters once or twice during the cleanse.

[sastanley]

ccbear - Be careful doing too many things at once. Let's just get it running...I love the simplicity of my mech fuel pump..the worst that happens is if the diaphragm fails, it dumps fuel in the crankcase (by design). Going electric adds a new circuit in the mix (Oil pressure safety switch). Also, instead of electronic ignition right away (which also adds LOTS of complexity at first), I would buy a new set of points, condenser, rotor, cap, and wires, and try to get it running with those. Even if you switch to electronic a bit later, now you have fresh spare backups with only a few hours on them to revert to in case you ever have a failure.

I do agree about removing everything fuel line related before the carb and starting fresh there. Those are just hoses so you are not adding complexity..just fresh lines.

C-30 fuel tank - if it is original I might remove the fuel tank. I dutifully filled mine up the first winter I had the boat in 2008, put it on the hard, and then all the fuel leaked out in the bilge 2 weeks before launch. I replaced mine with a Moeller plastic tank, but before you pile a bunch of crap in the quarterberth, I'd remove the tank and clean and thoroughly inspect. Any moisture chilling out in the bottom of the tank for 12 years may have corroded the bottom corner(s) of the tank like it did mine. To remove the tank, just carefully cut all the crappy fiberglass tabbings they used to glass in the tank. We ripped mine out with crow bars (no power tools with sparks in that enclosed area!) - and then it will come out the hole in the quarterberth. There are better ways to re-install it, with straps and some anchors glassed to the hull. That is the BEST way to make your fuel system 100%..because there is no drain hole in the tank. You'll have junk in it unless you remove it and really clean it out. Fresh lines mean zero if they are sucking 12 year old crud out of the tank.

I spent the first winter doing all e-ignition and all those things on your list, and still ended up replacing the fuel tank. Start with the component the furthest away from the engine (fuel tank, fuel fill) and make those correct, and work systematically toward the engine.

I know it is a long rant, but that is my $0.02. Get that fuel delivery clean and fresh with clean tank, real filters, and then over the next summer we can help with electric fuel pumps and electronic ignition and fun stuff.