Carib Cruising on 30’ with Atomic-4

[Sailon1]

A min. 36’ with diesel would be preferred for cruising and live aboard, but here I am, for now, with a Pearson 30’ and 30 hp atomic 4 gas engine. Has anyone cruised the Caribbean on a smaller boat (less than 34’) with gas engine? Your comments will be greatly appreciated!

[Sailon1]

Added note: I will be singlehanded on the Pearson

[Sailmonkey]

You won’t be the first one to have done this.

[Cheechako]

Nothing wrong with a 30 for the Caribe at all. I have not had a gas inboard engine though. I had as much (more?) fun cruising my 30 footer as anything. Everything was easy to handle, worry over an inexpensive boat was much less, maintenance was much less. A $20k boat is a lot less to worry about than a $300k boat! The only deficit is speed.
Most of the E Caribe cruising is daysailing or overnighters.

[Sailon1]

Good information. Thanks!

[ebs001]

James Baldwin sailed around the world twice on a 28 foot Pearson and the second time with no engine at all.

[AiniA]

I don't see it as much of a problem. The sailing is good but you will find the fuel more costly and you will get poorer fuel economy than with diesel. If you are going to the Eastern Caribbean using the Thorny Path might be more problematic since you would need to refuel often to get to windward if you can't find suitable winds. We found several sub 30 foot boats almost completing circumnavigations in South Africa. Go for it.

[jrau18]

My 36 foot boat was usually the smallest wherever we went. However, usually doesn't mean always. There is no reason your Pearson 30 is insufficient.

The main reason for more size in the caribbean is for more storage space and comfort. You'll be watching weather like everybody else and picking the better days to go between islands.

You probably dont have much water tankeage on your boat, get some jugs so you have plenty of water. You'll need either a roll up dinghy that you can store below between islands or tow a small rib, since you wont be able to pull it out of the water while sailing.

Your shallow draft will be nice in some achorages, you can take that spot too shallow for the other boats or even have some abchorages to yourself that a 6 foot draft cant enter.

Regarding the atomic 4, bring spare parts, they're hard to find for any engine there, everything has to be ordered in and you'll be paying customs fees of arbitrary amounts and with arbitrary delays. Every fuel dock will have both gas and diesel, so no concern there.

As other have pointed out, the engine is a "nice to have" anyway. When my transmission died, I just ignored the engine for a month until we got to an island with easier logistics for ordering new parts. While this is inconvenient in a crowded anchorage, you can always just anchor in a less crowded anchorage. In your smaller boat, it will be easier to maneuver under sail if your engine does die.

My first boat was a cal 30 with an atomic 4, so similar to your boat. I wouldn't have hesitated to sail single or double handed on it in the caribbean. Double handed probably would be too tight for my wife's liking, though, hence why we bought a 36 footer.

[Paul Howard]

Before you take an old boat that has been daysailed locally to the Caribbean, clean the fuel tanks. it will save you lots of grief. All that old settled out stuff and some growing stuff will clog any and all filters and carb. when you begin getting tossed around in the waves.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by Paul Howard

Before you take an old boat that has been daysailed locally to the Caribbean, clean the fuel tanks. it will save you lots of grief. All that old settled out stuff and some growing stuff will clog any and all filters and carb. when you begin getting tossed around in the waves.

Paul is correct about the tanks...they are likely filthy and this will reveal itself at the worst time.

A Pearson 30 with a direct-drive Atomic 4 will burn about .75 US gal/hr doing cruising speed in flat water at about 1900 RPM, or 5.6 knots SOG. This is an estimate based on what I got with my Viking 33 in Lake Ontario, which is a slightly easier boat to push

I actually downsized my original Monel 12 gallon Imperial tank to a Tempo 10 gallon U.S. tank because I wanted the space in the locker and found I had trouble using even 10 gallons a season because...it was a sailboat!

But range is an issue. I went from about 85 NM per tank to maybe 63 NM. If I had to motor on a calm day to get somewhere, I would hoist the main to steady the boat and would have to refuel halfway there, well offshore in case of spillage, but as I only motored for more than 10 minutes in calms/very light breezes, I rarely spilled a drop.

So, for you, I would suggest a look at the whole fuel setup. I would consider a bigger tank (say, 15 gallons) in one locker and a small, reserve tank (say, 5 gallons and(with a petcock switch over) in the other. Solo, you can hang lines in the saloon or elsewhere. Make sure the tank pickups are above the level of the fuel pump so that it's essentially a gravity feed. The A4 fuel pump is reliable, but not particularly strong. Let gravity help.

With new tankage, change out the vent line. Spiders live (and die) in vent lines, and I found both upsizing to 5/8" and taking them fully out, hosing them through and letting them dry (or using a hair dryer on them) got completely rid of the "runs 20 minutes, slows and stops" issue, which is a partial occlusion of the vent line that happens when the fuel pump can't draw against the partial vacuum of a bunged-up vent. Dental tools and a replacement screen on the skin fitting help here.

Secondly, you will want an inline water/fuel separator (Sierra makes a good one and Mercury makes the filters, but there's loads of options). You'll want to mount it on the aft bulkhead of the engine compartment with a fuel cock to shut off the gas when out of the boat AND to burn off the gas in the fuel pump bowl should you need to leave the boat for any time.

Thirdly, you'll want a proper gasoline/proper sniffer for that carb, in case of leaks. Options are many; I used an Electro Systems gas/propane sniffer that would wake the dead.

Fourthly, you'll want to see if you have seawater or freshwater cooling. The latter is preferable for salt water due to the issue of clogging, critters or corrosion/precipitation due to the A4's seawater thermostat. Rinse the passages and carry a spare thermostat. With both, get a post-impeller, Vetus-type "basket filter" to mount on the side bulkhead to reduce plastic, seaweed and other detritus from getting into the block.

Fifthly, check out your exhaust system. I GREATLY prefer the smaller Vetus waterlock models compared to the original "soup pot" Onan types, which can corrode internally and send water back into Cylinder #4.

Spares should include belts, a full gasket set, spare impellers, a few jugs of sump oil, a spare coil (if applicable), a spare carb and carb rebuild kit (you bolt on a new carb while rebuilding the old), spare plugs set for the "hotter" setting (RJ12YCs gapped to .040" gives better ignition), all hose spares and decent hose clamps, and a tune-up kit (distributor cap and spark wires). Also learn the torque values of the various head bolts. All this information is available via the Moyer forums and other resources.

Learn how to adjust the transmission via the various yoke adjustments and that "squarehead bolt" on the band surrounding the planetary gear. These tend to "creep" out of proper alignment and need periodic adjustment.

Make sure your battery cables are right-sized and marine-grade (none of that dodgy welding cable in a salt air environment) and that everything is tightly dogged down and kept clean. Water the batteries more in the Caribbean due to the heat. Consider upgrading the stock alt to 55 amps and DEFINITELY consider getting out every incandescent lamp aboard in favour of LEDs...you can continue to use the crappy, not-to-modern code wiring that way for a bit, save for the masthead LED and steaming lights which should have new, marine-grade runs.

Track your run times and change oil at 200-300 hours. Cheap insurance.

The A4 can work like a champ for decades if you are willing to keep it happy. I've rebuilt two of them and apparently this stuff has stayed in my memory despite the fact I sold the boat and all my A4 spares three years ago! I will add that when I became a sailor, I had zero experience with motors, never had taken a shop class and never had owned a car (still don't). I found all this stuff pretty easy to learn, and the A4 is perfect in this regard, as it's so well documented.

[Brewgyver]

(Edited out spares, Alchemy had it well covered) If you're not familiar with Moyer Marine, check out their parts and user forums, www.moyermarineforum.com as well as www.atomic4.com
As others have said, carry plenty of fuel and water, plastic jerry cans on deck.

You'll have a great time! I have a '78 Catalina 30 with A4, and if I was in Florida I wouldn't hesitate to take it to the Bahamas

[hamburking]

Love the Pearson 30. I had one for 5 years. SOLID boat. Although mine had been repowered with a Volvo B2000 diesel, so I can't complain. I have however, owned two atomic 4 engines on other boats, so I'm no stranger to them.

I say YES, you can certainly do it. But realize you will be sailing. You will only have enough gas for getting into and out of marinas, and maybe a little battery charging. And you will spend much time and effort finding gasoline and trying to keep the tank full at every port you visit.

But don't let this hold you back. Get a few gas cans of various sizes and find safe places to stow them aboard. Get a good piece of hose to siphon the fuel instead of pouring...especially when its rough. And my final advice would be to hide a one gallon can someplace for when you do eventually run out of gas.

To be clear, my only concern is the range of the atomic 4 given the fuel tank size, which I believe is around 70 litres. I would have no concern regarding the reliability of the engine, or the explosive nature of gasoline. Well, you might want to get some "NO SMOKING" signs....LOL.

[CommodoreDoug]

I cruised the Carib in an Ericson 32 with an Atomic 4 many tides ago and it was a blast. Just make sure you have plenty of spare fuel and water jugs secured to the deck. And spares for your engine.

One advantage to cruising a Pearson 30 is you can always go with a long shaft outboard with a transom mount bracket if the A4 gives you too much grief.

Happy Cruising!

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Sailon1

Added note: I will be singlehanded on the Pearson

I singlehanded my Pearson 30 all the time. No problem at all. Other than approaching a dock, more people just get in your way. Your food and water will last much longer...and not just because you won't need to bathe as much!

I always slept in the main cabin, port side. My inflatable avon rover 310 lived in the vee, along with the occasional guest. Spare sails, life jackets and swim toys in the quarter berth. Tons of storage on that boat.

I used an ST2000+ autohelm and it worked flawlessly. I'd recommend you bring a spare.

You are going to have a great time. I look forward to your youtube videos!

[Bill O]

Sailon1
If Sean D'Epagnier went around the world in his Bristol 27 with no motor, I'm fairly certain you could make it in the Caribbean with your Pearson 30 w/an A4 motor. Sail more, motor less if you find you can't find fuel.


Bill O.