fortyplus seagull- will it push 13ft dinghy

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nyx2k

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i had my 2.5hp mercury stolen over the weekend and it wasn't insured so ive dug out a 1970's 40plus. the 2.5 had enough power to get the 13ft heavy dinghy to about 5knts. will the forty+ push it as fast or will it struggle. i use it on calms days in the estuary but not far off shore.
 
The 40+ will move it OK. Is it the model with a clutch?. The normal max size boat recommended was 10/11 foot, but many people used them on bigger boats. Give it a try - better than rowing (perhaps!)
 
I used one for years on a 17ft lake boat for fishing in all sorts of weather. It may not make 5 knots but it will push you along just fine.
 
As others have said it is a good pusher, large slow revving prop compared to more modern egg whisks.

I had an informal race years ago in similar 8-9 foot tenders, well laden, and the Seagull was faster than a Yamaha.

I would think against any sort of headwind the Seagull would be better, assuming of course it is in good running order.
 
Same here Barry - I used one off the beach at Portland - as did everybody else - and no problems - even when we dropped them in the water and retrieved by diver - quick wash through with fresh and they went on forever, again. Beware of long-shafts suffering from hydrophobia!
 
i'll give it a go this week if the tide and weather are ever suitable again. it only get used between westcliffe and shoebury for getting the boys out on the water and normally stay within 1/2 mile of the beach. i sometimes get very adventurous and go to the pier head for a nose around.
 
If it's not been used for a while chuck away any old fuel and mix up some fresh. (10:1 unless converted to 25:1)

Clean and gap the plug, think about looking at the points.

May be worth giving the carb jet a clean. If you take it out note how it was fitted and do not drop/lose the retaining screw. While its out the float needle can come out so watch that.

Be preared for the cork in the fuel tap to have dried out. If it feels loose take the centre out of the tap (Don't drop/lose the little retaing grubscrew) and pop it in a pan of boiling water for a few minutes.

Check the gearbox oil which should be SAE 140 which is difficult to get now. Get from an agricultural suppliers maybe or use EP90.

If it all goes well consider converting it to 25:1 as that makes it a lot less oily to handle. The needle is available from SOS.

Details on every thing above is on the SOS website http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/

Further advice from the SOS forum
 
Our seagull pushes our 22 foot yacht at 3 knots .It pushes the 7 foot plywood tender but still only about 3 or 4 knots.
 
i presume its high toque low power looking at the size of the prop.
i lent it to a neigbor in august and he ran it all day for 7 days on the broads and he said it was perfect for his 12ft inflatable as he didnt want to run a 100hp on tickover for a week.
i'll put some new fuel in Wednesday and give it a try before i take it apart.
 
Definitely worth trying before stripping anything down I left ours for years and it still ran after a few pulls.Once you get it running make sure to switch off the fuel tap to run the carb dry after use .With practice the engine will stop just as you arrive at the pontoon/slipway .But in the real world... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Leighb your info is incomplete for us to make a proper comparison.

Did your competitor in your 'informal race' know he was racing?

The Yamaha in question, what hp?

You hope the Seagull is in good running order for the trial, why not also the 'egg whisk' Yamaha? Are you not admitting some sort of bias in the comment?

How about some objectivity

ps. you omit: fuel consumption, noise, pollution, elec generation. Any comments?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Leighb your info is incomplete for us to make a proper comparison.

Did your competitor in your 'informal race' know he was racing?

Yes, we had gone across the Orwell for a beach picnic with family, and raced back

The Yamaha in question, what hp?

2.2 HP

You hope the Seagull is in good running order for the trial, why not also the 'egg whisk' Yamaha? Are you not admitting some sort of bias in the comment?

The Seagull at the time was running well, the Yamaha was much newer, as I said it was informal and just a bit of fun, the point I was trying to make is that the Seagull is not necessarily slow or underpowered.

However if they had each been pushing a light Inflatable which could plane, then the Yamaha might then have been quicker.


ps. you omit: fuel consumption, noise, pollution, elec generation. Any comments?

[/ QUOTE ]

Re. your PS. The Seagull undoubtedly uses more fuel, and is noisier, all 2 strokes are polluting, AFAIK neither can generate electricity, but that is hardly relevant on a tender.
 
My b-in-l has a 15ft Langstone fisherman on Ullswater with an 8hp Johnson.
We've used my seagull 40plus on that and it just about reaches hull speed. The Johnson can't push it much faster, but is a bit quieter.

JeremyFisher.jpg
 
Long, long ago I used a 40+ to power first a 17 ft Seahawk (about 1,200 lbs or so) and then a 19 ft Caprice, a bit heavier, all round the Bristol Channel and up into the Irish Sea a couple of times. Lots of thrust for it's horsepower, though not fast.
 
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