Seagull deck attachment?

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round robin

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I have been investigating the feasibility of fixing an outboard to the port side of my Gaff rigged day racer. Wanting to stay as traditional as possible I have been advised Seagull used to offer a discrete (bronze?) deck fitting.

Apparently the fitting is attached to the deck and owners can easily attached the outboard and lock the outboard in place when required.

I have been searching the internet but discovered no reference and wondered if you might be able to offer some advice?
 
You might want to talk to SOS saving old seagulls. But I think the bronze bracket was a clamp for fitting to a transom with a pivot pin that could be removed to ship the O/B. ie a system to disconnect the unit from it's transom clamp. There have been a couple of threads on side mounted engines not long ago. 'Minn' put up some stuff.
A

The same thread was referenced to the wooden boat forum.
 
round robin said:
I have been investigating the feasibility of fixing an outboard to the port side of my Gaff rigged day racer. Wanting to stay as traditional as possible I have been advised Seagull used to offer a discrete (bronze?) deck fitting.

Apparently the fitting is attached to the deck and owners can easily attached the outboard and lock the outboard in place when required.

I have been searching the internet but discovered no reference and wondered if you might be able to offer some advice?
Click to expand...

I had one on a YW People's Boat I once owned. It was screwed in place and as far as I remember (after 35 years) it had an L-shaped pin that retained the outboard in place when mounted but allowed it to be easily removed for storage in the cockpit locker (Health and Safety hadn't been invented then)

It's the sort of thing that might come up on eBay or you could try Ffoulkes Chandlery Barge, Bursledon, where they have all sorts of old gear for sale
 
Yes, for the 40 series engines there was a very nice bronze casting that was just like the normal bracket but did not have the screw clamp fittings but was bolted to the transom. For the larger Century models the bracket was an aluminium casting with separate screw clamps. These could be removed and the aluminium part bolted to the transom

However, neither of these would provide a mount on the side. There was one in the early 1950's for the 102 model which had a casting bolted to the deck and a fitting bolted through the hull planking to take the thrust block. This was not updated when that model was replaced with the Century.

There was a board with a cross bar that was bolted through the deck to provide a mounting sticking out of the side, but was of course very vulnerable - although less so with a canoe stern.

So the short answer is that unless you can find one of these types secondhand you will have to make your own.

If your boat has a transom it is usually quite easy to make a neat arrangement, but a canoe stern is aways difficult.
 
Going on from Tranona's reply, people used to power canoes with an outboard motor clamped to an athwartships wooden batten. If the wooden batten is fixed with wing screws it can easily be unshipped when not needed
 
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I use a side bracket for an outboard on a 35' Broads sailing cruiser. Directional control can be a bit of a problem when leaving the moorings if you forget to angle the outboard slightly away from the hull. Since the thing is 70' long with the stick down, where the overhanging spar gets to is a consideration. The main advantage of a side bracket is that if you wish or have to move the boat on your own, you don't have to leave the helm for a route march to the transom just to alter the throttle. I've had both of mine specially fabricated - a village blacksmith made the first out of angle iron so it could easily be cut and altered until the dimensions were right. This wasn't very pretty, so I eventually had a shiny one made from stainless. There is a cross beam that goes almost across the deck just behind the cockpit with three bolts to fix. I have seen smaller examples (and once owned a small aluminium example) with bolts into the sidedeck beside a half deckers cockpit coaming - but suspect this too was custom built. You need spare, short bolts & tap washers to keep the bolt holes watertight when you're not using the engine.

I suspect this method would be completely useless in waves but suits my purpose inland - and also tends to restrict those who might fancy mooring alongside. It really isn't a very difficult measuring job - particularly for the sort of boat you describe and I suspect could be made very subtly so no-one ever knew you had the facility.

Seagulls? No. I still have one but really couldn't take the noise and fumes beside me for a long trip. If you have to refill underway its usually easier not to do so over water. Hope that helps. OF
 
Sorry, perhaps I didn't make myself clear. The reason it would be difficult to make a standard side-fixing outboard bracket (even for one specific model of outboard) is that there will be as many different vertical lengths of bracket required as there are differences in freeboard between individual boats. Apart from a secure fixing that doesn't flex too much under load, the important measurement is from the sheerline downwards to ensure the prop. is the correct depth under water. Welcome to the world of custom fittings. OF
 
The Portsmouth Victory class have an ingenious transom o/b bracket, consisting of a fixed s/s plate on the half deck starboard transom, with a removable bracket. On the base plate (bolted through the deck) there are 2 short locating pins and a pierced central boss. The removable upper plate has the vertical o/b bracket (at right angles to the transom). This top plate needs only a lynch pin to secure it. Any type of outboard can be used, and its easily dismounted. I copied this system, and had one made up, and used it with a 4hp longshaft Johnson on a restored Mark 1 Bembridge Redwing, which has a long counter stern. It worked very well over several seasons, except if the boat rolled wildly. I no longer have the boat, but I'm sure the Victory class could supply dimensions.
I cant find a photo of mine at the moment, but have one of the Victory's base plate, which I attach.
 
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Side-mounted outboard

Hi. I had the same problem with my classic boat (see thread under my name if you search under "outboard"). People came up with some useful ideas but at the end of the day I had an aluminium bracket made up with two vertical bolts that were slotted through holes in the side deck and bolted underneath. You can get some nice chrome and brass fittings that the bolts thread through in the deck to save marks and wear. It works well and is very easy to mount and dsimount. It works a dream and can be used to steer in addition to the rudder. Being a long-keeler it is handy to use the outboard as a thruster to turn in tight areas such as leaving a marina berth. Let me know if you wantr a picture. Bob
 
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