Seagull Starts!!!!!!

[FullCircle]

Set about moving Full Circle to her winter berth today. Rice & Coles launch not running now, so thought I would have to row out against the tide in me dinghy.
I thought of the Seagull in the R&C shed, which hasnt been touched for the last 20 months, sitting on its outboard stand unloved and covered in dust and poo.
I checked if there was any fuel (yep!), opened the breather and tap, pushed the plunger on the carb, flicked the choke plate over, opened the throttle by half an inch (not a metric engine).

Pull, brr,brr,brr
Pull,brr,brr,brr
Pull,brr,brr,berr,berrr, berrrr
Pull, broom, broom, chagger,chagger,chagger.
Small puff of smoke. Running merrily.

Bloody hell it started 4th pull!!!!!

My Honda BF2.3 would definitely not start on 2 year old fuel, 6-7 months is the limit.

I didnt need the Seagull eventually as the Royal Corinthian Launch was running crews out in the last race series, but I was chuffed that it went at all.

Lets hear it for dead technology!


/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Ruffles]

My Honda wouldn't start the other day so I emptied the tank into a jug. It seems to be full of brown treacly lumps. Looked so horrible I was reluctant to put in the car. Started fine after I changed it. Any idea what it was? Could have been water I suppose.

 

[Searush]

Now, if it had been 20 years! Then, you'd need to change the fuel. What you have described is NORMAL for a Seagull, they are all left in the garage for a season or two between uses.

 

[reginaldon]

Now, if it had been 20 years! Then, you'd need to change the fuel. What you have described is NORMAL for a Seagull,
---------------------------------------------------------------
Too true, earlier this year I resurrected my '56 Seagull 40- after 15 years and easier to start than my Yamaha 5.

 

[Lakesailor]

Spooky. I took mine down from the garage wall today.

I may give it a whirl this week. Not been run for 2 years now.

 

[ex-Gladys]

The record I came across (personally) was a seagull that started in 1973 after being dumped in a barn in 1947... AT least that was the date on the newspaper it was wrapped in. Started third pull.

 

[jwilson]

If it had been used in the last year or two I'd expect a first pull start from a Seagull, obviously you didn't have the throttle setting quite right, or tickle the carb enough......

 

[Sans Bateau]

My Honda starts easily enough. Although after the last cut of the season I always empty the fuel and clean all the grass from under it! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[moondancer]

A couple of years ago I bought a classic 1960s speedboat, a Healey Skimaster, designed and built by Donald Healey of Austin Healey & Healey 3000 fame. The whole outfit had only been used a couple of times and was stored in a dry garage.

It had a Mercury redband 35hp twin cylinder outboard which had last been used in 1971. Just for fun tried to start it and it started and ran on the original petrol/oil mix with the original plugs. Mind you the water pump seemed to have disolved.

 

[oldharry]

What a good thing you didnt have to use it! It wouldnt have done that on the boat. Yould still be pulling at it now (if you hadnt chucked it OB!). Seagulls are well known for that trick

 

[FullCircle]

I know! I now put the outboard at an angle, so that the water does not creat too much back pressure in the exhaust, which is what stops it from starting - its choking itself by not being able to exhaust the spent gases. Starts everytinme now.
If I am on a pontoon, I pull the boat out of the water, start the engine, then relaunch!

 

[oldharry]

Yes - you can sometimes fool them into thinking its a bench start..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif