Seagull remorse - does it exist?

Blueboatman said:
Tranona I am fascinated at that story.
Fwiw there were bits of the later Seagulls I thought excellent genuine steps forward. The electronic ignition, recoil start and charging coil.

The dealbreaker for me with the SD110 was that it relied on a tiny oil seal to prevent water creeping up into the cylinder head( the engine being at or below waterline level in my corribee installation. The spares guy suggested they were vulnerable to mud and weed ESP on a drying mooring..
So the first time out after a proper sail, imagine ones consternation on removing the sparkplug when it failed to start, and finding seawater in there.
Amazingly after a few pulls it ran.

One wonders what would have been redesigned if the idea and budget had been ' there'. Electric start, auto choke, streamlined gearbox, feathering(!) prop....?
Click to expand...
Actually what killed them (after my time) was electrolysis - unsurprising given the mix of metals in the lower leg and the tiny anode fitted.

The other issue was that the original powerhead had so little power that performance was marginal in heavier boats - and expectations for an inboard were much higher than when the same engine was used as an outboard. This lack of power was most noticeable in reverse. The later QB powerhead had nearly twice the amount of power and would have made a huge diference, but the really exciting prospect was the 10hp flat twin that was under development at the time which would have transformed its capability. BTW there was a folding prop already designed and tested!

However all sorts of external factors, particularly legislation meant that 2 strokes were eventually doomed. The market for small launches and sailing cruisers was in decline so the potential OE customers disappeared. The Japanese outboards that came on the market were superior (from a users' point of view) and crucially no more expensive. All might have been different if the new ideas had started 10 years earlier and the bugs sorted when the company was strong - but too little, too late and no room for errors.
 
It's a relic, an ornament for the pub fireside. (Drain first.)

Interesting thread, well done Dylan. At first glance, I thought the 'Remorse' was the name of one of British Seagull's engines!

Electosys's contribution is scarily persuasive. It would be a fine thing if we could refill single glass lemonade bottles from a tap at Waitrose, rather than buying & 'virtuously recycling' hundreds of plastic bottles each year.

There's a lot to be said for being aware of the damage we're doing, and the Seagull's oily ejaculations manage that effectively.

But I believe all the appeal of Seagull outboards for me, is inherent to their antiquated appearance and the innocent fascination I found in them, thirty years and more ago. Like a steam engine, the visible parts appealed more than cowled Japanese versions.

If we're honest though, their hateful noise output is something that no evocative, modest b&w magazine advertisement could ever convey; the reality is wildly out of keeping with those tranquil picturesque estuary scenes that sum up our fondness for sailing.

I was thinking that the main benefit of one's tender wearing a Seagull, is the improbability of it being stolen whilst unattended. But with no plastic parts, and the rapacious metal-thievery of recent times, it might still get nicked - if only for its worth as scrap.

Oars.

I often feel fat and sedentary and conceited, and this thread has reminded me that I needn't be. The Seagull looks like a no-nonsense, traditional seamanlike solution to reaching the mooring. Waiting for a favourable tide and using oars is a better one.
 
I love seagulls,just as long as its you using the thing not me.The old mans still using his.
You can always tell whos got one by sitting in their car and taking a quick sniff or if you do not want to get high on petrol fumes .......a very very quick one.
 
I've got a seagull and the only problem I have with it is that there is no neutral!

Many is the time that I've pulled the cord, then leapt forward to try and unloop the painter before the dingy wedges itself under the pontoon. Not always succesfully it has to be said!

I also never set off without an oar! Just in case. Although I must admit I've never had to use it
 
dancrane said:
All excellent. I was very impressed. And you should see her propellor!
Click to expand...

Do you change her oil regular, or just let last years gunge carry on for a bit? I find water ingress can be a bit of a problem.
 
richardh10 said:
I've got a seagull and the only problem I have with it is that there is no neutral!
Click to expand...

Must admit I am no longer a Seagull user but no neutral only adds to the fun...
My dog jumped on my outboard braking gear control, luckily it was in gear at the time :)

I have never replaced it, reminds of when I was child.

As a kid I was only allowed to use the outboard when I could start it* regularly.

*It being a grumpy old seagull, wrap starter cord, hand over fly wheel (Open of course) on to fuel tank (no clip to hold engine down at start) and PULL
 
My earliest memory of a Seagull is when aged 11 or 12 I went by train to Lymington to catch the IOW ferry to Yarmouth.

There I was met off the ferry by my friend and his dad.

We descended the steps on the quay and got into, what seemed to me as a total landlubber, a tiny tender equipped with a Seagull.

Pauls's dad got ready to start. Wound on the cord, pulled out the fuel tap which promptly flew off into the harbour.

He said to me "Stick your thumb over that hole" and after starting we motored back to his yacht with me doing a little Dutch boy impersonation. :D

I had to stay like that until he had got aboard and found a suitable sized cork to occlude the orifice.

This was my first introduction to the world of yachting. :D
 
Leighb said:
He said to me "Stick your thumb over that hole" and after starting we motored back to his yacht with me doing a little Dutch boy impersonation. :D

I had to stay like that until he had got aboard and found a suitable sized cork to occlude the orifice.
Click to expand...

Let me guess the punchline...

...you've been fingering dykes ever since?
 
Leighb said:
My earliest memory of a Seagull is when aged 11 or 12 I went by train to Lymington to catch the IOW ferry to Yarmouth.

There I was met off the ferry by my friend and his dad.

We descended the steps on the quay and got into, what seemed to me as a total landlubber, a tiny tender equipped with a Seagull.

Pauls's dad got ready to start. Wound on the cord, pulled out the fuel tap which promptly flew off into the harbour.

He said to me "Stick your thumb over that hole" and after starting we motored back to his yacht with me doing a little Dutch boy impersonation. :D

I had to stay like that until he had got aboard and found a suitable sized cork to occlude the orifice.

This was my first introduction to the world of yachting. :D
Click to expand...

It's quite strange really, when ever anybody mentions iron sh*tehawks, somebody ends up going dewy eyed and telling some anectdote about how they go wrong.........I think a lot of people have beer goggle syndrome when it comes to iron sh*tehawks.
 
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