Motor's Out - Any Maintenance to Do?

[Allen Schweitzer]

I have recently purchased a 1977 Catalina 30 which needs to be repowered. The old motor's out & I was wondering if there was anything I should do before installing the new motor. Any advise?

 

[R.W.Landau]

Barrier coat

If you have a wet bilge, clean up the engine area and barrier coat it. It will help stop water infiltration from the inside out.r.w.landau

 

[Ron Thom]

Good Time

Allen, it's a good time to re-route all the water lines under the sink to the rear of the sink cabinet. I just did a major clean-up and restoration to my newly purchased 81 30 Cat. I found that I could only get a tooth brush into the sink cabinet because all the water lines were run through the front part of the cabinet right in front of the cabinet door. The job will be a lot easier with the engine out. I now have full use of the cabinet under both sinks. I also replaced the engine cover that runs under the sink cabinet. I found a burn hole about the size of a softball on the engine side of the cover caused by the exhaust pipe being to close to this cover before it turned down into the wet exhaust. I made the new cover out of marine plywood and then lead lined it. I lead lined the entire engine area and it helps with the noise factor. Lots of luck with your project. Ron

 

[Ron]

Sound proof...

Now would be an excellent time to sound proof the engine compartment.You can find kits at RV stores. It cuts down on the noise and insulates the cabin from engine heat.It would also be a great time to check all the wiring that is running through the engine compartment. Look for corrosion, bad wiring, and terminals.

 

[richard]

a few ideas

First of all you can now get to that last keel bolt so tighten it.I painted my bilge while the engine was out so it is very shiny white in there now. Better for spotting problems.I also chipped and epoxied a bit in the bilge under the engine so no water would puddle there. For some reason my bilge had a lip there and trapped a bit of water.Not a bad time to add a second bilge pump or T in an emergency pump using the engine impellor. Make sure to put a strainer on the hose.If you are going diesel from the old atomic 4 they the sound proofing idea may be good. Personally I just rebuilt my a4 and it runs fine.Dripless shaft seal?

 

[Bob Fischer]

new cockpit drain hoses

Wedge yourself into the back of the engine compartment, and install new hoses on your cockpit drains.Also if you have wheel steering, take a peek up the binnacle from below, just so you know what's there and if it looks acceptable.