Motorsailing Questions

[Brad1968]

Getting ready to buy a '79 Catalina 30 down in San Diego if the survey goes well on Tuesday.

Planning next weekend's trip back home to LA and am hoping to make it in 2 days with an overnight in Oceanside before arriving at her new home in San Pedro and had a few questions.

She has an Atomic 4 with a fixed 2-blade prop.

How many hours of motoring can I expect on a tank of gas?

What rpm and boat speed are the Atomic 4's typically happiest cruising at?

Thanks in advance,

Brad

 

[whatfiero]

atomic 4

all of the atomic 4's i've operated were old and of about the vintage that you have and had never been rebuilt so they had a lot of blow by or they burnt oil a lot at high rpm's so we had to run them slow ; and slow they get good fuel economy maybe 2 gal an hour ; if the boat has sails sailing is the fastest most economic way to transport

 

[Brad1968]

Thanks for the info.

We plan on sailing as much as possible, but wanted to make sure we were thinking ahead to motor sailing since the trip from San Diego back up to LA is usually upwind and we'll need to make about 50 nm a day over the 2 day voyage.

 

[Jack - La Paz Mx]

You might consider going out to Catalina Island from San Diego, spending the night, then back to LA. Leave early, probably be able to sail. Be sure to go way south around the kelp bed off Pt. Loma before heading N off San Diego (if in SD Bay).

 

[Nahart51]

Atomic 4 cruising speed is 2000 RPM
1 gallon per hour.

That's if the owner maintained her. If not, expect cruising speed to be zero RPMs after about 20 minutes. Biggest problem will be overheating.
But, if she was well maintained, should run like a top. I recommend Moyermarine.com for parts and advice. Also a great forum community.

 

[Brad1968]

Thanks for the rpm and consumption.

Trying to keep the days distance low enough to be operating in daylight which is a little tough this time of year.

The San Diego Bay to Avalon shot looks to be around 80 nm so we'd be arriving in the dark.

Also trying to stay within reasonable distance of marinas/harbors such as Mission Bay, Dana Point, Newport, etc in the event we experience any problems along the way.

Planning on taking along a 2.5 gal can as a reserve on the trip.

Here's to hoping the PO actually maintained the engine as advertised...

 

[Scotty C-M]

Any chance you can take it out for a nice long (several hours) shake-down cruise before the journey? It could save you some time and money.

 

[Brad1968]

Actually doing the survey and sea trial Tuesday.

 

[jimmcgee]

Survey or not, new (to you) boat and a long trip. Plan for things to break.

If they don't you'll be happy. If they do it will be expected

 

[wufibugs]

I did the reverse trip when I bought my boat out of Marina del Ray and sailed it home to SD. The logical stops, depending on how fast the wind will let you sail [since I knew absolutely nothing about sailing, I hardly got the maximum out of the little wind I had and I'm pretty sure I heard Don Gillette groaning with every luff of the sails], will be Dana Point, and then Long Beach if you find the sun dropping and you havn't made the distance you had planned. DP has guest slips and a fuel dock. They are all easy in, easy out harbors. Shoreline in LB does not have guest slips and no fuel dock, but I think they have both at Alamitos.

 

[Brad1968]

Appreciate the pointers.

I'm still working thru the exhaust repair before I can bring her back. Pulled off the exhaust riser and found out the real exhaust leak was coming from a rotted manifold. Still trying to find a replacement manifold this week so I can get it put back together.

Planning to rebuild the exhaust riser with galvanized 1 1/4" and a wye with a reducer and pipe barb instead of the custom hot cooling water injection part.

 

[wise4]

I'm sure you already know, but Moyer marine has original and aftermarket manifolds... I recently overhauled the atomic 4 in my 80 Catalina 30.. My manifold was still good... Although the studs were toast... Good luck

 

[LuzSD]

We plan on sailing as much as possible, but wanted to make sure we were thinking ahead to motor sailing since the trip from San Diego back up to LA is usually upwind and we'll need to make about 50 nm a day over the 2 day voyage.[/quote]




We had our boat in Pt Loma for 6 years and regularly brought her up to Dana Point. We did that trip in all kinds of weather and rarely made it in under 10 hours, and the last time, with wind on our nose the entire way, it took us 14. If you are a long way into SD (Chula Vista) then Oceanside makes sense, but Oceanside to San Pedro seems way too ambitious to me, especially in a boat you aren't familiar with. I would plan to stop in Dana Point or Newport after Oceanside, and then make that jump to San Pedro on a 3rd day. Being tired and lacking good light and entering marinas in the dark are all difficult one at a time........ seems like it would pay you to slow down and if you get some extra down time, your that much ahead!

Good luck to you and a safe trip and some sailing on the trip north would be great too!

 

[Brad1968]

Made the trip in a great 2 full days on the water this weekend after installing a new exhaust manifold, building a new exhaust riser, pulling and inspecting the thermostat and housing, replacing the duckbill in the antisiphon, and replacing the majority of the raw water cooling hose.

Day one was Saturday from Sunroad Resort Marina in San Diego to Oceanside. Giant pod of dolphins mid-morning followed by a great hour-and-a-half under sail making between 5 and 6 knots (GPS) close-hauled. Fired up the engine whenever we couldn't keep our sailing headway above 5 knots since we had so much water to cover. Pulled into Oceanside to hit the fuel dock around 4 pm then grabbed a guest slip.

Day two was a solid Sunday of motorsailing from Oceanside to San Pedro interrupted with about an hour of sailing making better than 5 knots late-afternoon. Fired the engine back up just North of Huntington Beach since the 5-7 ft West swell mixed with a 2-3 ft South swell making it difficult to maintain good sail shape and keep our speed up. Pulled into Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club around 5 pm and tied her up in her new slip safe and sound.

Fabulous 2 days on the water with a great weather window.

Time to start working on all the little stuff...

 

[LuzSD]

Good for you Brad, sounds like a perfect trip! We were racing both days off Dana Point this weekend and had so much more wind than expected, ... you picked a great weekend to make the move. Good luck and enjoy! Cabrillo Marina and Yacht Club is one of my favorite spots!

 

[yeahjohn]

Sounds like a fun trip. The atomic 4's are very dependable if you give them clean fuel. Change water separator and polishing filter often and keep an eye on things. What did your fuel consumption end up being? Also join the moyer marine forum. The atomic 4 is very easy to work on inside the catalina 30 so make sure to learn how to do your own work. Mechanics will charge you to much and most don't have a clue when it comes to atomic 4s. Congratulations on the new boat.

 

[Brad1968]

Left San Diego a little before 7 am and pulled into Oceanside around 4 pm. Ended up getting to sail for about an hour to an hour and a half so we motored for about 8 hours give or take.

We topped off with around 8 gallons, so we burned about a gallon an hour.

The new manifold and riser did great. Spent the first few hours with the engine fully exposed and the blower on since the galvanized pipe and grease were smoking off. After that it did great with a little bit of blow by through the oil filler cap but the hose to the flame arrestor is missing on my Atomic 4. Will probably do the PCV upgrade instead of trying to find replacement hose.

She did great now it's time to start working on the little stuff like adjusting the reversing band and working on some of the wiring.