mackerel man
New Member
Would a 5hp seagull outboard be powerful enough for a Shetland 535 to use on sea for inshore fishing and be safe any advicce
seagull for shetland 535
- Thread starter mackerel man
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Pete7
Well-Known Member
No, because their idea of 5hp was hopelessly optimistic. You have a planning hull why not fit 40 hp and make use of that. Your costs per miles won't be that much more but time to arrive at your fishing spot will be much quicker. It doesn't have to the latest 40hp 4 stroke either, so something like a Mariner 40 2cly 2 stroke should do nicely.
VicS
Well-Known Member
Just about provided you don't want to go far or other than fairly slowly and dont mind the noise.
You would have to be very aware of the strength of tidal streams
I assume you are looking at an Osprey model ? http://britishseagullparts.com/seagull-5-osprey.htm
Short ( aka standard ) shaft model is I believe correct for a Shetland 535
You might want to fit a long range fuel tank as refuelling at sea is a pita
I think you will very soon want to replace it with something more powerful. The 535 will take up to 55hp The Seagull would still came in handy for trolling or as a back up
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oldharry
Well-Known Member
Agree with the above: Their 5hp was in reality 3-4 on a good day! Whichever, its not enough to push a Shetland reliably .
Yes sure, it will push you at 3 - 4kts in calm water on a fine day, but as soon as the wind and sea get up you will be floundering around making little or no headway. Bad enough having to spend a lot of time getting to your fishing grounds. Worse still when you find you are struggling to get back again at half a knot if you are lucky!
6 - 8 hp from a modern 2 stroke will be just about adequate, 8 - 15 will ensure you are able to get around in most conditions. 40hp will get you around at 15 - 20mph, so you get a lot more time fishing!
although some of us can still remember struggling with seagulls on larger boats, I think few of us regretted the arrival of more powerful and reliable Far eastern engines!
Seagulls if you must are strictly for dinghies nowadays. But just about every other make beats them except for character, for which read noise, smoke, unreliable starting, oil all over everything, and in a trail across the water.
Yes sure, it will push you at 3 - 4kts in calm water on a fine day, but as soon as the wind and sea get up you will be floundering around making little or no headway. Bad enough having to spend a lot of time getting to your fishing grounds. Worse still when you find you are struggling to get back again at half a knot if you are lucky!
6 - 8 hp from a modern 2 stroke will be just about adequate, 8 - 15 will ensure you are able to get around in most conditions. 40hp will get you around at 15 - 20mph, so you get a lot more time fishing!
although some of us can still remember struggling with seagulls on larger boats, I think few of us regretted the arrival of more powerful and reliable Far eastern engines!
Seagulls if you must are strictly for dinghies nowadays. But just about every other make beats them except for character, for which read noise, smoke, unreliable starting, oil all over everything, and in a trail across the water.
mackerel man
New Member
Thanks have a seagull silvery century wiþh clutch and long range tank my 535 is the 15ft version believe they called them the hobby
Hadenough
Well-Known Member
Or an anchor.
ShinyShoe
Well-Known Member
Well I'm a little more of a believer in these little engines, and you do still see some on some clinker boats that are used by people every day to go out and lift lobster pots etc. Not serious fishermen but fairly dedicated amateurs.
The HP rating is all a bit of a mess on a Seagul. So where it says 5HP you can probably half it! BUT unlike modern OBs they weren't designed for any planing and so the torque is very different, which actually means the HP rating is not that helpful. The will move heavy boats quite effectively. But effectively may not be quickly. 4kts is probably a reasonable expectation. So it does depend a lot on where you will be boating, and how the tides and weather are likely to work for you. On an outbound tide you will go faster than 4kts. But against the tide you need to subtract the tide from your speed. In some places thats only 1 or 2 kts so you'd still make headway. In others 4kts+ can be the tidal stream in which case your only way of making progress might be to tack. BUT if you can be confident that you will be journeying where the tides are less and where the tides go in the direction you want then its not too crazy a suggestion. But you do need that confidence.
Bear in mind wind will also create a force to fight as well...
Character They certainly have plenty!
Noise Ah em - well yeh they are a bit noisier ;-)
Smoke Some of us quite like Eau de DuoStroke you know ;-) Its most noticeable on starting. Once you are moving its the boat behind you that gets the smoke!
Unreliable Starting Actually I've never had an issue with Seagul Starting. Follow the procedure. It should start second pull. 4 pulls - you've done something wrong. Yes its not as easy as turn the key. BUT far less to go wrong and when it does its very simple to sort (there isn't exactly much to them to replace / check).
Oil over everything Really? The only thing on mine that leaks oil is the gearbox plug - which is by design! So if its lying in the boat it will drip about 2mL of oil per day. It lives on a rag. In the water you'll never notice it! I do get fuel (and as I'm running on 10:1 that includes 2stroke oil) "leaking". Thats from 2 places - the tickle system in the fuel line to start it. Its about 6 drops which is less than 1mL and is always into the sea as its when starting so under the engine. And if I've not used it in a while the fuel tap leaks. Thats the cork seal drying out.
trail across the water.No need to carry a GPS - just follow the trail home ;-) And your fish comes ready oiled for the frying pan! Seriously mine does leave a clear trail - I've contemplated changing the carb to do 25:1 as that would have to help! I'm using biodegradable 2Stroke Oil to at least make me feel less guilty! Ironically the choppier the water the less this matters... ...the choppier the water the less suited the engine is!
Would I put a Seagul on that boat? No way! Not because of performance / reliability / messyness. All of those can be addressed to some extent. It just plain looks wrong! A similar sized open, clinker design which would probably never be able to plane with anything on it - absolutely. A "modern" planing designed hull - not as a main engine.
Topcat47
Well-Known Member
I've been to sea, for short trips, in a Sheltie powered by a 40hp. Yes you can plane in calm conditions, but if it get choppy, you might find yourself motoring around at hull speed. Not too much of a problem in coastal waters, but if you have ambitions to be a bit more adventurous, I'd look for something a bit more substantial than the 535. Keep the Seagul for trolling and as a back-up, by all means.
oldharry
Well-Known Member
Fred drift I know, but I had numerous Seagulls while they were still in production - usually because they were about half the price of anything comparable! And there was a reason for that too! Not just simplicity, but they had a definite 'reputation', like much else British Engineering produced in the 60s - 70s. Starting issues: yes i have had engines which started second pull every time. Same as I had Stuart Turners that started on the button every time (except once, becalmed in the entrance to Portsmouth with a Cross Channel ferry on the way out with the tide under it...!). But I also had engines that if you could start them could not be relied on to run for more than 15 minutes, others that just would not start (one brand new one ex works - even Seagull engineers couldnt get it to run when I returned it!) and others that would only start reliably if the wind was in the right direction, and I had had curry for supper the night before!
One of the most common causes of non starting was to immerse the leg too deeply: this created too much back pressure so the engine would run perfectly in the test tank, but on the back of a dinghy with all the weight aft, a few inches deeper in the water - forget it! Many Seagulls were scrapped as non runners for this reason. A Seagull engineer told me it was the most common reason for returned engines.
Oil: yes if everything was in apple pie order. As they age the seal between the exhaust and the block may start to leak , and all that oil in the fuel starts to leak down the top of the leg where it ios burned into a sticky mess of tar, which is very difficult to clean off. And gets everywhere!
There is no excuse fro running a 10:1 engine still. The modification is simple, cheap and much cleaner, and saves all the pretty seahorses from getting tummy ache!
But yes, the buzz of a distant Seagull across a calm bay evokes all that summer holiday boating is about for me!
One of the most common causes of non starting was to immerse the leg too deeply: this created too much back pressure so the engine would run perfectly in the test tank, but on the back of a dinghy with all the weight aft, a few inches deeper in the water - forget it! Many Seagulls were scrapped as non runners for this reason. A Seagull engineer told me it was the most common reason for returned engines.
Oil: yes if everything was in apple pie order. As they age the seal between the exhaust and the block may start to leak , and all that oil in the fuel starts to leak down the top of the leg where it ios burned into a sticky mess of tar, which is very difficult to clean off. And gets everywhere!
There is no excuse fro running a 10:1 engine still. The modification is simple, cheap and much cleaner, and saves all the pretty seahorses from getting tummy ache!
But yes, the buzz of a distant Seagull across a calm bay evokes all that summer holiday boating is about for me!
ShinyShoe
Well-Known Member
I'm sure I will do the mod... ...one day.
I don't boat near the sea horses! :nonchalance:
Would agree with the leg being too deep being an issue.
I don't boat near the sea horses! :nonchalance:
Would agree with the leg being too deep being an issue.
alancollins
Well-Known Member
The company used to boast that you could drop a Seagull engine overboard, recover it days later, flush it out with fresh water, refill the tank and away it would go. This may be true, but in my experience the one time it wouldn't go was when you kept it dry and bolted on the back of a boat.
l'escargot
Well-Known Member
I had a 535 20 odd years ago. The main engine was 50hp and I had an 8hp auxiliary. I used to run up and down the river on the auxiliary but as soon as I got out into any wind and tide in the Solent, it was on with the main engine. They are heavy little boats and don't do well with small engines in anything but flat conditions.
markspark7
Well-Known Member
I agree with the 40hp preferably 2 stroke, had a 5hp seagul as aux on my 535 sheltie but was useless against a 5kts tide a, and fuel tank was way too small so additional fuel was required as well taking up space.
