Seagul 40 or Electric Trolling Motor to get to Mooring

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thesaintlyone

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Oki so the Longbow came with a Seagull 40 (I think) which we tried to start today!!! Started but cut out after about 30 seconds and appears it could do with the following:

New Plug
New HT Lead
New Fuel Pipe Banjo (Original is Split)

Or Purchase an Electric Trolling Motor ebay £50-99

I only need the motor to get me across the Medway where the Longbow will be on a Mooring of course on some days I will row but some I will just prefer a motor.

Thoughts ?????
 
Unless you have the skills to keep a Seagull running reliably, forget it.
Trolling motors are designed to go slowly. Unless there's not much current, you need a fairly serious one, plus battery charging.
I think economising on outboards for tenders is mostly a mug's game unless you are a DIY mechanic with plenty of small motorbike experience.
Look for a good used or new Japanese engine.
 
lw395 said:
Unless you have the skills to keep a Seagull running reliably, forget it.
Trolling motors are designed to go slowly. Unless there's not much current, you need a fairly serious one, plus battery charging.
I think economising on outboards for tenders is mostly a mug's game unless you are a DIY mechanic with plenty of small motorbike experience.
Look for a good used or new Japanese engine.
Click to expand...

How slowly if its quicker than I can row!!!! I will be able to launch at upnor pontoon and the boat will be moored directly opposite near the far bank so maybe 200yds
 
I have a 1.5hp trolling motor for my 2.4m rubber duck. I can row faster than the motor can push, but it's awkward to row those rubber ducks if there's more than 1 person aboard.
200yds could seem like a long way to troll if you've got a strong tide and stiff wind. I suspect you would find yourself rowing.

In fact: 200 yards? What's wrong with you? Just get a good pair of oars.

Re-reading your original post, you don't say what kind of boat you are trying to propel. Presumably not the Longbow...
 
Some form of fiberglass 2 person dinghy not actually bought one yet just looking at the viabillity of the seagull compared to other options I have been advised that rubber ones tend to get vandalized in the club storage area. do like the portabillity of the trolling motors tho
 
I use electric trolling motors at my lake in France and find that whatever the make they do tend to eat up batteries. We have also gone through about a dozen different motors in the last 10 years and they are not exactly overworked. You also have the weight of a lead acid battery to contend with plus the regular charging that it will need. I would have thought that a small petrol out board would certainly be the most trouble free option.
 
The trolling motor is a waste of money. A cheap one like that has no power - although OK for mixing your cocktails. You need a heavy battery and a means of recharging regularly (and probably fall apart quickly). They are designed just to move small fishing boats short distances at low speed in flat water - not for propelling a heavy dinghy in tidal waters. The Seagull will give you good service if you fix it, but to be honest you are better off rowing if you intend buying a hard dinghy.
 
I bought a mini Kota approx -10 y ago. Thus far it's been fine. It was the "sea " version not lake -- a power issue for the sea .
The same 60 ah bat is still going strong .It powers a sea go 240 tender which will sit 4 pax .
We are a sans gas, a s sans petrol boat .
Bat lasts long enough ,there's a use age chart ,maybe 4-6 hrs ?
Shore power for recharge or geny to top up @ anchor while cooking etc .
It's slim and stores under a seat in a locker ,no issues over lying it down .
It's not fast either .
I got it for safely ,with the kids.- it always starts :encouragement: and in " protective parent mode" mentally figured a electric motor should a kid find its self on the sharp end of the prop will be least damaging , allowing mum n dad to relax while kids went off in it .
Now we have a dog which needs shore trips , the silent action is nice as well .

Would I get a petrol ---- nah
Btw the leccy recharge is foc
 
thesaintlyone said:
Some form of fiberglass 2 person dinghy not actually bought one yet just looking at the viabillity of the seagull compared to other options I have been advised that rubber ones tend to get vandalized in the club storage area. do like the portabillity of the trolling motors tho
Click to expand...
I use a 40 Featherweight on a light 8ft dinghy. Bought 2nd hand but almost new nearly 40 years ago. Still looks nearly new, starts easily and runs like dream with minimal maintenance. One new plug in all that time..
Half mile trip to my mooring but not across a strong tide.

A larger dinghy would require a more powerful engine eg. a 40 plus

I suggest you try fixing up the Seagull without spending a shed load of cash. If no good buy a small Japanese engine as suggested.
Forget the trolling motors only buy electric if you have a stack of gold bars to buy a Torqeedo
 
You already have the Seagull. Fix it and try it for a while. Only thing is they are not good company in the car - smelly and oily. Maybe you have a place to keep it near the dinghy, though?
 
thesaintlyone said:
... do like the portability of the trolling motors tho
Click to expand...
Definitely a + . I bought a 32AH gel battery for ours (cost as much as the motor) and for other uses. It will run the motor at 75% thrust for half an hour, but in that time you won't get far. On the plus side, it means that each bit (battery and motor) can be lifted separately with one hand.
It's also nice to be able to move silently through a crowded anchorage early in the morning. So long as you don't have far to go, and there's not a lot of tide running. Or wind.

TBH, I would agree with the other feedback you're getting, and fix the Seagull as Plan A.

If you have a bit of spare cash you can always get a cheap trolling motor and a gel battery as an experiment. The battery will always come in handy for something and you can use the motor for stirring puddings.
 
I restore and do up old seagulls - I understand them and have a shed loads of spares. I use 2 hp Suzuki for tender engine. Sorry - for a tender, better, lighter, cleaner, reversable, way nore reliable - no contest. Why British Seagull went to the cleaners.

That said - a large 100 century lonshaft for a yacht emergency engine has a lot going for it ( I carry one on the rail )
As engines to mess about with they are fun - both to run and repair. But as a good tool to get to the boat - no - sorry !
 
two points - rowing an inflatable is not as easy as two of you paddling. secondly the seagull should be fine. light as it's a two stroke and once its sorted they are so crude there is hardly anything to go wrong you can't fix yourself. smelly, not good for the environment but mine ran for ages until the bearings finally went.

google

saving old seagulls

for a wealth of advice and source of spares
 
thesaintlyone said:
Oki so the Longbow came with a Seagull 40 (I think) which we tried to start today!!! Started but cut out after about 30 seconds and appears it could do with the following:

New Plug
New HT Lead
New Fuel Pipe Banjo (Original is Split)
Click to expand...
Plug will cost < £7 and having one as a spare would never be a bad plan anyway!
Why do you need a new HT lead? I broke mine removing the plug once. But it must have been working before that as the spark was getting through, just like yours.
Can you see the split in the pipe? Are you sure its not just a cork seal on a tap that has dried up and leaking and dripping down the pipe.

You will be able to do that all for <£35. Like others have said there won't be much else to fail!

But beware

- they are sometimes tempramental. If its 'convenient' not to row thats fine. If its that the tide is too strong to row into that will be the day the engine fails.

- no kill cord. (you can install one < £10). That is not just as a safety feature - there is no instant way to kill the engine as you come alongside or come to shore. You turn off fuel and wait!

- no reverse. If you are used to reverse this is a major PITA. Thats probably because I'm used to reverse on a RIB. There are usually other ways to do things - but they involve pre-planning!

Or Purchase an Electric Trolling Motor ebay £50-99
Click to expand...
Plus battery?
Battery may be heavier than the motor.
Battery has to be brought home to charge (unless you have a better plan)
No longer feeling as portable as it sounds on paper! An 85Ah battery is really heavy when you have to drag it to the car!

Are others around you using the electric motors? If so you can be confident they have the oomph for the conditions. If not... ...maybe there is a reason.

If you don't want to go Seagul, I'd get a plug +/- HT Lead. Get it starting and running. Punt it on ebay £80. Then put that £80 lus the £100 you were going to spend on electric motor & battery and find a c£200 OB that will do exactly what you want.
 
I was steered well away from electric motors on here for my tender and glad I was. I also used to row, but now I have the company of a Yamaha 2.5 4 stroke. Clean & reliable motor. The best decision.
 
I tried electric. Less manageable than a 2horse dinghy engine and around a third of the power. 2 awkward bits to carry, leaving no hands for gear. Reasonably happy until one day an unexpected F6+ came in blowing directly from the dinghy hard to my mooring. I couldn't row against it (solid dinghy, inflatable would have been worse) so had to rely on the motor. It could barely make any headway and was failing in the gusts, and after half an hour or so the battery gave up. (Normally a 5 -8 minute run under power or 10 minute row), necessitating an emergency landing on the rocky berm below the seawall. This didn't do the dinghy much good either. The electric outboard was relegated after that and I reverted to my trusty Mariner 2 which will push The dinghy against anything short of suicidal conditions. Other than the Torqueedo, they are toys, or for pond fishermen. Just not powerful enough to be safe in an open estuary. Particularly a £50 fleabay one!
 
ShinyShoe said:
Plug will cost < £7 and having one as a spare would never be a bad plan anyway!
Why do you need a new HT lead?
Click to expand...

Seagull made some awful HT leads with radio suppression bulges in them which are prone to fail without warning. Well worth ditching, even if they seem to be OK.

- no kill cord. (you can install one < £10). That is not just as a safety feature - there is no instant way to kill the engine as you come alongside or come to shore. You turn off fuel and wait!
Click to expand...

To stop a Seagull you close the throttle, and it stops. If it doesn't, it's out of adjustment. You certainly don't have to turn off the fuel and wait!

OP, if you don't have one, get a Seagull service manual. I think Saving Old Seagulls do them. The style of writing is a bit strange, but it talks you through everything conceivable that you might want to do.

Seagull history: Forty D, Forty Minus, Silver Century, Forty Bitzer, Forty Featherweight.
 
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