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74' Atomic 4 Sailboat Fresh Fuel

Jbourgault7

New member
I need to find out if this is a stupid idea and or what other alternatives I could try. First off I have an associates degree in marine technology i finished last year, but not a lot of experience, especially in marine application (I'm 22), plain and simple. My cousin asked me if I could help fix a couple problems on their atomic 4 and make sure it has everything it needs for their upcoming season. They hardly ever use the engine because it's a sailboat. The gas I think is over a year old now and had fuel stabilizer added in the fall for winterization. The engine was running last season and before it was stored for winter. Now they asked me to check the boat for the upcoming season so I went down, got water supplied to the engine, tried to start it with no luck. Cranked with no fire. Tried several times between letting the starter rest. Fuel valve is open. SO Here's my situation. I was originally thinking that I wanted to get fresh fuel to the fuel pump. SO, I went and bought 5 feet of fuel line at the auto parts store (told them for marine application), and now I was thinking I was going to get a 5 gallon automotive gas jug from my house and fill it with some fuel, put the fuel line in the can and then connect the other end of it to the intake side of the fuel pump (inside of a sailboat cabin). Now it sounded like a great idea to me at first until I thought about an accidental spark igniting the gas vapors and seriously injuring, if not killing me, and burning my cousins and the surrounding boats that are stored at the marina LOL. Not really a joke though. How can I safely supply fresh fuel to the engine without emptying the entire boats gas tank.

I thought about leaving the gas can outside the cabin on top instead with the line coming down inside but thought it would flood the carb and engine before I even get started.

I need some experienced thoughts. I don't need to be the guy that blows himself up.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!:D
 
What you described is a disaster waiting to happen. Find someone who knows marine engines and get them to take a look. The engine needs three things to run - fuel, spark, and compression and you don't seem to have much of an idea what is lacking.

As for getting rid of the old fuel in the tank - there are several safe ways for doing that. You need a pump specifically designed to handle volatile liquids. Personally, I use an aftermarket auto fuel pump. Depending on the size of the tank, there are purely mechanical (hand operated) pumps that will do that, also.
 
I'd suggest skipping the gas can idea until you have diagnosed the problem....

You can get insight into the compression from the cranking and a gauge will help remove any subjectivity.

You nose should be able to tell you if fuel is in the carb and if it has gone bad.

A timing light is excellent to check for spark.....a spark gap tester will also work but with a bit more effort involved.... If its there, it has to occur at the proper time for the engine to make full power.....
 
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