Basil Fawlty moment

m1taylor

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Well, until recently I have smugly been using a seagull on my tender. I proudly pulled that string and off it went in a cloud of smog only Beijing could match. And it only cost me £80 off ebay, whereas all these other new Japanese outboards cost £400plus, and were surely so attractive to thieves waiting for the next boat jumble. Nobody would want my seagull...BUT then the b**st*rd refused to start - drifting downstream looking like a right pratt with the string being wound round the flywheel over and over again whilst smug Zodiacs went by with purring mariners! If I could have thrashed that engine, well I would, only I feared the seagull protection agency were about and a custodial sentence could be on the cards. So my love affair with Seagulls is over - having been humiliated by having to row to my boat, losing pounds and calories on the way, and enduring abuse on why not use my outboard!

Now the point of this pointless rant. There are still some small two strokes about - new! And I guess they'll start, and they have a recoil mechanism, and don't produce a rainbow of floating petrol to sort out the marine life. So dilemma - Mariner 3.3hp, or brand new eco-friendly Al Gore approved Suzuki 2.5 four stroke? The Suzuki is actually cheaper, but will 1.2 HP make a difference?
 

oldharry

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Yes - around 30% more power /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Only worth it if you need it to get over a strong tide or wind. I use a 4hp Ailsa normally on my dinghy, and get the same speed at 3/4 throttle as full - just a bigger wetter bow wave! Being some 35 years old, the Ailsa has to 'retire' occasionally for attention and is replaced by a Yam 2, which gives half the power (doh!) and half the speed. I guess the Ailsa is developing little more than 3hp at normal 'dinghy' speed, but the Yam can't get anywhere near it. so the difference between a 2.5 and 3.3 is quite big IMHO.
 

catmandoo

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When I was a lad I caught a seagull from my canoe when I was fishing for salmon . A bit embarrassing because this big herring gull was flying high like a kite drawing attention to my activities . It exerted quite a pull .

When you mentioned having a seagull on your tender it suddenly came to mind . Perhaps several seagulls trained like husky dogs could replace a nosy smelly metal machine and in this anti global warming oriented society you could claim your tender was gull drawn .
 

Norman_E

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How do you store and transport your outboard? You have to be careful to keep four strokes the right way up, two strokes are much more forgiving.
 

Leighb

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I am a fan of the Honda 2.2 4 stroke, air cooled so no problem with salt in waterways etc. No messing about mixing 2 stroke fuel.
Always starts first pull, and has a hydraulic clutch, so you do not shoot straight off when you start the engine.
However it is a bit heavier and bulkier than the small 2 strokes, and is picky about how you lay it down so storage could be a problem.
 

dickh

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There is a new 'MADOX' 2HP outboard on eBay at the moment, made in China of course and will be shipped from Poland!
 

FullCircle

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Well, finish the story then - why did the Seagull not work?

Cant be hard, theres bugger all to them!

20 quid? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 

m1taylor

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Why did the seagull not work? Good question. I have tracked it down to a weak spark, so the ignition is faulty. It's very mendable, but I fancy something a little cleaner lets say.
 

m1taylor

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Now that makes sense - the wire gets the full brunt of spray from the back of the tender, and then sits in a damp garage - guess salt water + damp = corrosion for electrics.
 

oldharry

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Damp HT leads and back pressure in the exhaust from mounting the leg too deep in the water are the two main reasons for their reputation for unreliability and poor starting.

Some people swear by them, the rest swear at them.
 

Evadne

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If it's cleaner you want, then why not get an electric one? One of the main reasons I like mine is that it nearly always starts first time ....
 

oldharry

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Simple test for HT leads on Seagulls: ask SWMBO to hold the black wire to see if it's warming up. Stand well clear.

If she yells and lets go, then you need a new lead... and probably a lawyer /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Cliveshep

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You (Jimminy) mentioned a 3.3 Mariner, I have one I bought new around 4 years ago. Fuel in it now is still last year's. Last week was the first time starting since last August, 2nd pull, off it went quite happily, taking us and dinghy round the estuary bit at Abermaw (Barmouth). I think it's a lovely little engine, gets stored upside down/sideways, wherever it lands basically, performs faultlessly. I did have a Seagull, like you say, one lived in a cloud, couldn't see where one was going for foul-smelling smoke, and it's noisy when you do get the thing going.
 
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