Seagull outboard - stopping?

Environmental disaster.
But Seagulls have long ago laid their manufacturing footprint and now it's just a bit of oil and smoke. The new motor you buy to replace it will have a whole new manufacturing footprint to press into the fragile earth.
 
It sounds like I'm in for plenty of fun! I've only just built the dinghy, for use as a tender and general messing around in, and then suddenly along comes an outboard, free of charge.
I like the notion of a traditional British engine, but just hope it won't be another mistake like my Stuart Turner was.
 
[ QUOTE ]
another mistake like my Stuart Turner was.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oi! What's wrong with Stuart Turner engines? (new thread required)

Let's face it; if Carlsberg made engines they wouldn't be Seagulls or S/Ts
 
Two ways recommended by the makers...

If stopping for a short time, close the throttle! If it is correctly set up, the engine will stop within a second or two.

However, this leaves fuel in the carburetter, which will leak out of the drain hole when the engine is picked up and laid horizontal, and which will evaporate and leave a gummy deposit otherwise.

So, if stopping in a more permanent manner, close the petrol tap at the back of the engine and let it run the carburetter bowl dry. This is advanced Seagullmanship, in two respects.

First, you need to acquire the knack of reaching round the back of the engine to close the fuel tap whilst avoiding the plug cap, the flywheel and the hot block.

Second, having done that, you need the skill to judge the distance that the boat will travel before the engine dies (in the case of my tender with a Forty Plusm about 65 yards!)
 
One other thing...

If it has still got the plastic plug cap, it is a very original engine, and has had little use, methinks.

Change the plug lead and fit a modern rubber plug cap. (Don't ask me how I know that!) It will be a tenner well spent.
 
Re: One other thing...

My seagull 55 was set up so that when at idle and the steering lever was lowered the engine stopped. Raise it up again to horizontal and you can restart it. I understood this was how it was supposed to be. Quite a knack in deciding when to turn the fuel tap off so the carburettor was empty when the dinghy hits the shingle.
Nasty, oily, smelly, noisy, difficult to start sometimes,(but always started instantly when back home) would NEVER start when you REALLY wanted it to, always left the car with an oily deposit and smell. The British Seagull - RIP.
The best thing I ever did was to buy a Honda and sell the Seagull!
 
HSE advice, you should use your forearm (not with the sleeve rolled up).

One old chap was feathering for mackerel and caught the line in the flywheel-- next seen crouching in the bottom of the boat with a two pound lead whizzing round overhead.
 
Did you HAVE to mention Stuart Turner ?????

The engine that starts from cold, red-hot but never at running temp ?

ST's and Seagulls are in TOTALLY COMPLETELY different leagues all together !!

Honest ... don't worry about the stories here ...

Seagull Procedure.

a) Sort out bracket that has just decided to swinbg round shaft while you try and put on dinghy transom.
b) Quickly flick seagull over to other side as fuel is now running out while you trundle dinghy down slip ...
c) Launch dinghy and release clip so seagull is now vertical.
d) Open fuel tap and tinkle the button on top of carb till hand stinks of petrol and a small rainbow circle is spreading out oin the water ....
e) Wind rope onto starter "ring" .... close choke and set throttle to halfway ...
f) tell everyone else in dinghy to duck while you put hand on fuel tank to steady engine and pull smartly with other hand to get it to fire ... it does and stops ...
g) Pull again after warning others to duck again.
h) It has now fired and run for maybe 2 or 3 secs ...
i) Now open choke halfway and warn others - this is important as that rope end coming of that flywheel does serious damage to passengers .... pull again and she'll roar into life ....
j) Ease the choke open till she'll open up to full throttle ... 3.5 kts ....
k) Motor out at 3.5 kts looking the Salty Ol'Seadog ... you have a Seagull !!
l) At about 50 - 100 yds from destination you close fuel tap and keep going ... telling passengers to catch hold of pontoon / boat etc. as you come alongside smartly with engine on fast idle !! Keep hold till engine stops ...
m) Now people can get off !!

Marvelous ... every single one I have had worked exactly the same ..... remember the sequence well !!
 
I used to just close the choke, worked exceptionally well, pretty much the same thing as blocking the air intake with palm.
 
Re: Did you HAVE to mention Stuart Turner ?????

You forgot the end procedure:

1. Burn your hand on exhaust as you attempt to lift it off the transom.

2. When you get home - clean up fuel that despite best efforts still leaked out in boot

3. Get covered in oil that has run down from engine as you get hold of now cold exhaust with previously burnt hand
 
Agreed - I did forget !!

Please add to previous !!


Of course you should not have a Seagull on the back of a "new Smart Dinghy" .... it should be on the back of a Clinker job with rope fender round and a broom handle stuck in the tiller arm so you can sit on midships thwart.

To original poster .... When you try to steer with original short tiller - you find its "jerky" and you will not steer a straight course ... second as you turn tiller throttle will change slightly as cable tightens / slacks !!

A standard broom handle cut in half is old-salts Seagull tiller extender ... it just fits inside the tiller arm tube !! My extender came from a certain famous Mop that was not as good as TV advert reckoned !! She threw away mop - I kept handle ...
 
Re: Agreed - I did forget !!

To those who say they prefer their new Yamuki to a good old BS - do you think they will last as well? The youngest seagulls are almost 10 years, but there are many still working that are 70 years old. Mine is a youngster at only about 20!

I do also have a 7year old Suzuki but can't get parts for it! So back to the old faithfull which is much easier to fix!
 
Re: Agreed - I did forget !!

[ QUOTE ]
So back to the old faithfull which is much easier to fix!

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not that they're easier to fix, it's that they're damn nearly impossible to break!
 
preference ...

I think near everyone prefers the later more modern outboard ...

Cleaner, Quieter (not always !!), less oil / gasoline in water, no starting cord flying around to catch others, many with FNR etc.

But as another says - how many of them will still be plugging away near 70yrs on ? If you check out Saving Seagulls web-site .... you see that many originals from early days are still working. Go round any old yard etc. and see the number still plugging away with minimum maintenance.

Love 'em or hate 'em - they do keep going ....

AS to those who can't start a Seagull ..... I reckon I've handled about 20 Seagulls over the years and near all have been the same starters .... rarely having that much trouble to get one going ...... but the modern o/boards ... many times they have been "right pigs" to get going ....

Sure they may be an environmental disaster .... but so's a Rolls Royce at x mpg ----- I don't hear anyone moaning there !!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top