Seagull remorse - does it exist?

That's very funny. Having taken care not to confuse black & brown skinned clientele, I'm surprised British Seagull didn't take care to include yellow & redskinned customers. What an all-encompassing rainbow of use...like the rainbows left behind on the water...

...every colour except green, perhaps. :rolleyes:
 
The Seagull engine is classic British design, design and suits Classic boats. In the Cornish harbour where I moor my boat outboard thefts are increasingly common. I have never had my tender 'borrowed' even during regatta week. I love the sound and smell of the engine and simplicity of the design. When setting off onlookers expect to see you struggling to get the engine started, but regularly maintained it starts easily first or second pull and away you go. The sound of a seagull engine in the harbour always grabs my attention, you can be assured that seagulls owners do not cause the most problems in a busy commercial harbour either in pollution or excessive speed and wash. I wonder how many contributors to this thread have either owned or used a seagull engine..? There seems to be a consensus against keeping British tradition alive and many would like to see them consigned to a very oily dustbin. I know my seagulls will be still going strong long after my Honda four stroke has been thrown in the skip.
Paul
 
Cornish Bluenose said:
The Seagull engine is classic British design, design and suits Classic boats. In the Cornish harbour where I moor my boat outboard thefts are increasingly common. I have never had my tender 'borrowed' even during regatta week. I love the sound and smell of the engine and simplicity of the design. When setting off onlookers expect to see you struggling to get the engine started, but regularly maintained it starts easily first or second pull and away you go. The sound of a seagull engine in the harbour always grabs my attention, you can be assured that seagulls owners do not cause the most problems in a busy commercial harbour either in pollution or excessive speed and wash. I wonder how many contributors to this thread have either owned or used a seagull engine..? There seems to be a consensus against keeping British tradition alive and many would like to see them consigned to a very oily dustbin. I know my seagulls will be still going strong long after my Honda four stroke has been thrown in the skip.
Paul
Click to expand...

it is amazing how old threads bob to the surface

but I have used seagulls a lot

and I am sure that there are plenty of old codgers on here who have used them and who have decided to stop using them



I now deeply regret what I did to the environment with all my years of seagulling

at the time outboards, motorbikes and lawn mowers were all two stroke

but cleaner more fuel efficient engines are now available


as for the argument that other people pollute more than innocent seagull owners with a lust for traditional values

well that is a bit like the bloke who mugged an old lady and defending himself by saying that other people mug more old ladies than he does

as an argument and justification for pulluting it does not hold water - for me at least


sure they are amazing bits of engineering

and make a noise full of old memories

I look at mine on the top shelf in the garage with affection

steam trains were also amazibng bits of engineering

and they used them on the tube system

and when something better and cleaner came along they were abandonned

Seagulls are a terrible source of point pollution

it is time to hang them up

Dylan

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/blogs/two-stroke-censure-ii/
 
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dylanwinter said:
it is amazing how old threads bob to the surface

but I have used seagulls a lot

and I am sure that there are plenty of old codgers on here who have used them and who have decided to stop using them



I now deeply regret what I did to the environment with all my years of seagulling

at the time outboards, motorbikes and lawn mowers were all two stroke

but cleaner more fuel efficient engines are now available


as for the argument that other people pollute more than innocent seagull owners with a lust for traditional values

well that is a bit like the bloke who mugged an old lady and defending himself by saying that other people mug more old ladies than he does

as an argument and justification for pulluting it does not hold water - for me at least


sure they are amazing bits of engineering

and make a noise full of old memories

I look at mine on the top shelf in the garage with affection

steam trains were also amazibng bits of engineering

and they used them on the tube system

and when something better and cleaner came along they were abandonned

Seagulls are a terrible source of point pollution

it is time to hang them up

Dylan

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/blogs/two-stroke-censure-ii/
Click to expand...

Or in your case, sell it to someone else, if I remember correctly!
 
OK, let's say I'm convinced (and I'm not)

What are the greener alternatives to my '67 Silver Century?
We have to make some assumptions here, I'm very, very new at boating so don't really know how much use it will get as an auxhillary and (at some point soon) the main engine on a small tender but let's assume 500 miles over the next 10 Years or so.

So, what to do with it? if I scrap it, surely the emissions and energy used in recycling will far outweigh what the engine will expel during those miles and what could I replace it with?
Is there really anything new that would have caused less pollution to manufacture than mine will emit?


Just because you can see an oily film from the exhaust, it doesn't make that pollution any worse than the tons of CO2 emitted invisibly from the twin exhausts of a gas guzzling car. Far from it!

Incidentally, I'm not excessively old, a few Grey hairs are appearing admittedly but I'm yet to see in 40.
I'm also very new at boating but there's something about the elegance of my Seagull that really appeals. Certainly when it was used on my dingy for fishing trips on the river it used to attract cheery waves, I certainly wasn't aware of any sneering or malicious looks!

But, as I say, if there really is a Green alternative then I will look to change it, but that will have to be a fact based alternative not a dislike for the oily film or soulful exhaust tune (OK, I'm using my imagination with that bit ;) ) any suggestions?
 
There are an amazing number of ways we can lead greener and more environmentally lives, I wonder just how much hardwood used on boats comes from environmentally sustainable sources..? What is the cost to the environment of GRP production methods..? We can all get hung up on the 'rights and wrongs' of our own particular green issues, however most sailors I know are in-tune with their local environment and have a sensible approach to pollution.
While Dylan can keep turning left....I will KRO. Other Bluenoses will get my drift.
No offence Dylan but your reference to old codgers is out of touch...and as for your reference to steam trains...each to their own. 'I just love the smell of a seagull in the morning'
Paul
 
dylanwinter said:
it is amazing how old threads bob to the surface

but I have used seagulls a lot

and I am sure that there are plenty of old codgers on here who have used them and who have decided to stop using them



I now deeply regret what I did to the environment with all my years of seagulling

at the time outboards, motorbikes and lawn mowers were all two stroke

but cleaner more fuel efficient engines are now available


as for the argument that other people pollute more than innocent seagull owners with a lust for traditional values

well that is a bit like the bloke who mugged an old lady and defending himself by saying that other people mug more old ladies than he does

as an argument and justification for pulluting it does not hold water - for me at least


sure they are amazing bits of engineering

and make a noise full of old memories

I look at mine on the top shelf in the garage with affection

steam trains were also amazibng bits of engineering

and they used them on the tube system

and when something better and cleaner came along they were abandonned

Seagulls are a terrible source of point pollution

it is time to hang them up

Dylan

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/blogs/two-stroke-censure-ii/
Click to expand...

Why you have these pangs of conscience Dylan, fails me, with BP et al pumping millions, nay billions of gallons into the briny, with countless planes passing overhead, pouring their pollutants into the atmosphere, not to mention Islandic and other volcanoes. At the end of WW2, aircraft carriers full, of planes and ammo being ditched into the Pacific - I remember it well,and on top of that your little Seagull!! Come on Dylan have a sense of proportion, You sound like Webcraft.
 
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reginaldon said:
Why you have these pangs of conscience Dylan, fails me, with BP et al pumping millions, nay billions of gallons into the briny, with countless planes passing overhead, pouring their pollutants into the atmosphere, not to mention Islandic and other volcanoes. At the end of WW2, aircraft carriers full, of planes and ammo being ditched into the Pacific - I remember it well,and on top of that your little Seagull!! Come on Dylan have a sense of proportion, You sound like Webcraft.
Click to expand...

three things

1/ it is about point source pollution in this river, this small patch where we keep our boats as opposed to the large scale diverse pollution.

2/pointing at the amount of pollution done by other people and organsiations across the planet as a justification for your own point source pollution in the small creek where you keep your boat is like a mugger pointing out that what he does is okay because he is not as bad as Hitler or Stalin. It really is like pissing on your own doorstep - sadly though the seagull users share their doorstep with lots of other sailors, crabs, fish and saltmarshes. It is like a bloke smoking in a room and then telling you to quit complaining because your car produces more pollution on the street than his cigarrette does in this room.

3/ it is such an easy win - modern four strokes are better and more economical - I have used both and they really, really are so much better and you can buy them very cheaply second hand

however, if you wish to continue splashing oil in the creeks because it

a/ it is traditional

b/the seagull is a good aesthetic fit with your pipe, your clinker built dinghy and besides you like the noise or the smell

c/you don't care about polluting the creeks and are therefore going to carry on regardless of the evidence of the point source pollution from two strokes


then that is is your right

but in my opinion it would be a slightly different world if you did the decent thing and hung the seagull on the wall
 
The thing about this thread it will just run and keep on running for years just like the trusty old Seagull outboard - great British design, simple technology in on over complicated world that we now live in.
Paul
 
dylanwinter said:
three things

1/ it is about point source pollution in this river, this small patch where we keep our boats as opposed to the large scale diverse pollution.

2/pointing at the amount of pollution done by other people and organsiations across the planet as a justification for your own point source pollution in the small creek where you keep your boat is like a mugger pointing out that what he does is okay because he is not as bad as Hitler or Stalin. It really is like pissing on your own doorstep - sadly though the seagull users share their doorstep with lots of other sailors, crabs, fish and saltmarshes. It is like a bloke smoking in a room and then telling you to quit complaining because your car produces more pollution on the street than his cigarrette does in this room.

3/ it is such an easy win - modern four strokes are better and more economical - I have used both and they really, really are so much better and you can buy them very cheaply second hand

however, if you wish to continue splashing oil in the creeks because it

a/ it is traditional

b/the seagull is a good aesthetic fit with your pipe, your clinker built dinghy and besides you like the noise or the smell

c/you don't care about polluting the creeks and are therefore going to carry on regardless of the evidence of the point source pollution from two strokes


then that is is your right

but in my opinion it would be a slightly different world if you did the decent thing and hung the seagull on the wall
Click to expand...

Of course not everyone has either the opportunity or the wish, to go up these creeks. Incidentally my Seagull is hung up, but it starts far easier than my Yamaha.
 
ccscott49 said:
Modern outboards, just dont look right on my clMcNulty inker dinghy, oars or 25:1 seagull, sorry Dylan.
Click to expand...

25:1...?? :eek: :( That's...that's a third of a pint of oil burnt, in every gallon of petrol you use! Just so that it looks right? :rolleyes:

When people see your clinker McNulty, I'll tell you what they're thinking...

"Lovely old boat...damned shame he doesn't row, instead of making that foul noise & stink." They'll say that after you've gone, obviously...nobody can speak when there's a Seagull operating in the vicinity. The kiddies may also ask their daddy why the water glistens so, in this area...

All that, just so it looks right? In what sense 'right'? Do you also drive a traction engine rather than a car?

View attachment 28413
 
I'm going to use my 25:1 Seagull this season. When I fancy it I'll take out a 10:1 Seagull this season, too. I don't 'splash oil about' in rivers, and I am considerate about noise afloat.
The enjoyment I derive from using my vintage motors is enhanced by the fact that it irritates those eco-zealots who so love preaching about their evil nature.The point about the pollutant effect of manufacturing a new motor is a strong one, and persuasive to boot.

So much tommy-rot is talked by those with a green axe to grind that it tends nowadays to just turn me off, like unsolicited telephone calls, politicians, and windfarm evangelists.
 
dylanwinter said:
it is amazing how old threads bob to the surface



Seagulls are a terrible source of point pollution

it is time to hang them up

Dylan

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/blogs/two-stroke-censure-ii/
Click to expand...

I never will !...Its a big hobby for me
Im also happy to say i have done up/reconditioned and then past on to other
very happy and grateful end users about 100 of these wonderful things in the last few years
i know they don't produce any kind of serious pollution to the environment.
yes webcraft..say no more!
basically why dont you mind your own business ...:P
i dont go round telling you what to do do i love!
 
Niander said:
I never will !...Its a big hobby for me
Im also happy to say i have done up/reconditioned and then past on to other
very happy and grateful end users about 100 of these wonderful things in the last few years
i know they don't produce any kind of serious pollution to the environment.
yes webcraft..say no more!
basically why dont you mind your own business ...:P
i dont go round telling you what to do do i love!
Click to expand...

you just did tell me what to do

and

they do pollute more than similar sized four strokes

it is your opinion that the extra pollution does not matter a fig
 
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