I have a 71 Catalina 27 with an A-4. It starts and runs just fine. However, recently during a long
beat to weather I used the engine and later noticed a major amount of black soot deposits on
the transome just above the water line. I checked the dipstick and the oil level was still full and I
haven't had a chance to pull and check for oil deposits on the plugs yet. My question is, is this
an automatic indication that my engine is burning oil?

Thanks,
Nick
"Julia Bell"