I feel like an organ donor

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Feb 26th, '14, 09:16

Those who poke around the "Buy/Sell CD Boats and Gear" message board may have read that I sold my MD7A, to a diesel shop in CT. I got a fair price for an engine that runs but has some cooling issues, water dripping issues and transmission oil leaking issues. And as needed, the parts will extend the lives of countless other MD&As.

The motor is out of the boat and sitting, winterized and covered, on a pallet tucked under the bow at the boat yard. Unsold, I'd need to crack 35 year old bolts to take off the "good parts," drain and dispose of engine oil and haul what's left to a scrap dealer. I'd also need to carefully hide the stripped off parts in the basement, in a place where L won't find them! And, of course, I'd be in the business of listing parts on Craig's List and eBay, over and over until some unfortunate soul had a need for the identical part.

I'm happy to trade the motor and the pain and suffering that would go along with still owning it for a small bundle of boat bucks. That said, my 13HP MD7A served me well for 16 years (not to mention the years and owners before me) and always got me home. It's somewhat sad to see it go.

John Ring · Post by **John Ring** » Feb 26th, '14, 11:04

You're not alone Neil. At times I miss the archaic old MD7A I sold a few years back. It was rough, loud, and downright recalcitrant at times. In short, it had character.

Grieving mechanical loss is never easy, but it's important to know that a method of therapy is available: Go to YouTube and search for "marine diesel," and spend some quality winter time with the results. You'll see guys running old Volvos, BMWs and Listers. Old thumpers by Sabb, Bukh, and Yanmar too, with not a glow plug or heat exchanger in sight. There are folks running huge ancient industrial engines too - one of my favorites is an old Fairbanks Morse 32D, played like a fine musical instrument.

Yes, I can clearly see some family lineage from the 32D in our familiar MD7A.
(Fairbanks Morse 32D Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_0xifuTqVA )

Cheers,
John Ring
CD36 Tiara

Steve Laume · Post by **Steve Laume** » Feb 26th, '14, 13:21

That was good.

Next time your significant other complains about the amount of time or money you spend on your boat have her watch this video. You could then tell her you might want to sell the boat and start collecting and restoring these things. Gee, Honey, wouldn't it be fun to travel around to all the fairs and run my engine? The diesel oil, grease and rust isn't that big a deal. You could wear coveralls and most of it washes off your hands. You could offer to buy her dinner at the french fry place or get her one of those big turkey drum sticks to sweeten up the deal, Steve.

tjr818 · Post by **tjr818** » Feb 26th, '14, 14:13

Love those old engines. Here is a link to the one that powers Westward:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas-Imperial

8 knots at 300 rpm. It might fit in the CD85.

Jim Walsh · Post by **Jim Walsh** » Feb 26th, '14, 14:32

Glad to hear someone will make use of the old diesel. Whether they rebuild it or part it out it will continue it's useful life.

Neil Gordon · Post by **Neil Gordon** » Feb 26th, '14, 20:33

Jim Walsh wrote:Glad to hear someone will make use of the old diesel. Whether they rebuild it or part it out it will continue it's useful life.

It's going for parts.

Now that it's going, I'm getting lots of calls from the procrastinators... if you need parts or just want a spare something or other, call http://www.soundmarinediesel.com/index.html

Joe Myerson · Post by **Joe Myerson** » Feb 27th, '14, 11:22

Steve Laume wrote:That was good.

Next time your significant other complains about the amount of time or money you spend on your boat have her watch this video. You could then tell her you might want to sell the boat and start collecting and restoring these things. Gee, Honey, wouldn't it be fun to travel around to all the fairs and run my engine? The diesel oil, grease and rust isn't that big a deal.

That thing sounds like my 1GM.

--Joe

Sea Hunt Video · Post by **Sea Hunt Video** » Feb 27th, '14, 11:30

Joe Myerson wrote:
Steve Laume wrote:That was good.

Next time your significant other complains about the amount of time or money you spend on your boat have her watch this video. You could then tell her you might want to sell the boat and start collecting and restoring these things. Gee, Honey, wouldn't it be fun to travel around to all the fairs and run my engine? The diesel oil, grease and rust isn't that big a deal.
That thing sounds like my 1GM.

--Joe

Joe: You are spot on. I closed my eyes and just listened. She sounds exactly like my 1GM

Bob Owens · Post by **Bob Owens** » Mar 6th, '14, 20:58

Can I just contribute to this wistful exchange by saying that I still run the factory original Yanmar YSB8 in my CD27. It starts on the 3rd beat without fail and does not leak a drop of oil or water. Sometimes I wish for 3-4 more horses in the harness, and under power I will never sneak into a harbor unheard. But whenever I think seriously about the cost of re powering, she suddenly starts sounding much quieter.
Bob

Jim Walsh · Post by **Jim Walsh** » Mar 6th, '14, 22:20

The decompression lever and hand crank are the coolest thing about the YSB8. I used to hand start mine a couple times each season just for kicks

tjr818 · Post by **tjr818** » Mar 6th, '14, 23:57

Bob Owens wrote:Can I just contribute to this wistful exchange by saying that I still run the factory original Yanmar YSB8 in my CD27. It starts on the 3rd beat without fail and does not leak a drop of oil or water. Sometimes I wish for 3-4 more horses in the harness, and under power I will never sneak into a harbor unheard. But whenever I think seriously about the cost of re powering, she suddenly starts sounding much quieter.
Bob

When we bought our 27 the surveyor, a salty old WWII Navy Capt., said about the YSM8 "Do you want the good news or the bad news? The Good news is, that it will run forever, the Bad News is that...it WILL run forever."
Bob, I feel the same way about our YSM8. It sure could use a few more horses, but I love pulling into the harbor at a slow idle, doing the African Queen imitation. Anyone can easily count the revolutions as we come in - not much more than 100 from the river to the dock!

John Ring · Post by **John Ring** » Mar 7th, '14, 08:14

Jim Walsh wrote:The decompression lever and hand crank are the coolest thing about the YSB8. I used to hand start mine a couple times each season just for kicks

Add in a cigarette for breakfast, and you've got an old Sabb. You feed a cigarette directly into the cylinder in place of a glow plug. Back in those days everyone smoked cigarettes, even your engine.

Sabb Cigarette Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99GfAzGE9yc

John
CD36 Tiara

Jim1945 · Post by **Jim1945** » Mar 7th, '14, 20:25

John Ring wrote:
Jim Walsh wrote:The decompression lever and hand crank are the coolest thing about the YSB8. I used to hand start mine a couple times each season just for kicks
Add in a cigarette for breakfast, and you've got an old Sabb. You feed a cigarette directly into the cylinder in place of a glow plug. Back in those days everyone smoked cigarettes, even your engine.

Sabb Cigarette Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99GfAzGE9yc

John
CD36 Tiara

John, if you look at some of the youtube videos referenced in my "Interesting Videos" post you will see that the sailboat "Teleport" had a single cylinder Sabb and the owner hand cranked it on many occasions. Also some videos on maintenance of the engine, tearing down the water pump and putting on a new head. Didn't see anything about using a cigarette when starting the engine though.

Jim

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » Mar 8th, '14, 02:19

Still on the same subject, does anyone know what this cap signifies?

That's a shark tooth sewn on the front. Pardon the smudges.

O J

Bob Owens · Post by **Bob Owens** » Mar 8th, '14, 13:06

Tim,
Seeing your location on the Mississippi: I grew up in central Illinois and spent a lot of time with relatives in St. Louis and Alton. Also spent boyhood summers at YMCA Camp Piasa not far north along the river at Grafton. The Mississippi is a beautiful river, but I cannot imagine trying to sail in that current, with the constant depth changes and with all the barge traffic. Must be a challenge.
Bob

The Cape Dory Board

I feel like an organ donor

I feel like an organ donor

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