Seagull

I'm amazed at all the advice to clean this, servcice this, replace this, grease this .....

Why ? Seagulls were built for squaddies to run up on beachheads etc. Designed to work whatever thrown at them. What squaddie ever cared what was serviced etc. - as long as it started and ran.

Seagulls have been abused and run without servicing for years and years ... most I know the only replacement parts they had were either the fuel tap cork sorted or a starting cord !

As to those who condemn them - good for you, each to their own. But for me - I'd be happy to have a Seagull again for the simple reason that a) it's simple, b) they work.
 
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Who rattled your cage this morning?!

As somebody who knows more than most about the saintly Seagulls having been the Marketing Manager in the final days of the "old" company, I can confirm that "engineering" in the way that we now know it was in short supply. The origins of the product were in the toolroom era of wartime production when you just got on and did things. Hence for many components there were no drawings as the designer originally made the part and then gave it to a machinist to copy. Most of the patterns and machinery were worn out after 20 or 30 years of use, and quality of materials steadily declined as efforts were made to keep costs down.

Despite all this the end product was fantastic for its time, particularly when you compared it with the opposition before the Japanese came in. suddenly the price advantage disappeared and the new products were overall superior.

Having said all that the product is still worth having. The 40+ I built for myself out of the best bits, mostly dating from the early70's is still going strong.

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I think my old man did the artwork for the add with a bloke with a seagull thrown over his shoulder walking off into the sunset & the caption "the Best outboard motor for the world."
He was a bit miffed that he had to change it from the best outboard motor in the world if I remember rightly....the first signs of political correctness?
 
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Why ? Seagulls were built for squaddies to run up on beachheads etc

[/ QUOTE ] many were made for that purpose but to be used once and abandoned.

A small amount of care and maintenance ensures that they carry on being reliable for many many years. With the little bit care it gets i cannot see why my Featheweight will not be good for another 35 years and another 35 after that.
 
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the first signs of political correctness?

[/ QUOTE ] More likely the advent of the Advertising Standards Authority.

They prompted lots of other changes, such as "Eight out of ten owners who expressed a preference....." and also - I think - the retirement of "A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play".

It's a bugger when you have to tell the truth in an advert, but I fear Seagull might have struggled to demonstrate that their product was the best outboard motor in the world, even though they were up against such exemplars of perfection as Evilrude /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
God knows what they made of 'go to work on an egg then' /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Actually if you look at a seagull it is almost a work of art for it's simplicity & after all that's what you want in a marine environment where if anything will go wrong it usually does go wrong.
I had an "evilrude" just a few years ago & the [--word removed--] was always going wrong just running on one cylinder. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
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I'm amazed at all the advice to clean this, servcice this, replace this, grease this .....

Why ? Seagulls were built for squaddies to run up on beachheads etc. Designed to work whatever thrown at them. What squaddie ever cared what was serviced etc. - as long as it started and ran.

Seagulls have been abused and run without servicing for years and years ... most I know the only replacement parts they had were either the fuel tap cork sorted or a starting cord !

As to those who condemn them - good for you, each to their own. But for me - I'd be happy to have a Seagull again for the simple reason that a) it's simple, b) they work.

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I understand even Flower corvettes had their boilers cleaned once in a while... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif That said, I've never serviced an outboard in my life, they are so cheap so just follow the "Trouville axiom": if they stop working, undo the clamps and...ooops. Get another one. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Disclaimer: OK I did change the oil in my Honda 2hp once a year...
 
All us fogeys have a nostalgia for old motors. It seldom stands up to rational scrutiny.

I used to ride Triumph twins and still have to stop and look at restored examples but the reality was that they vibrated so hard you had difficulty keeping your feet on the rests, they shed oil everywhere and would seldom go more than 200 miles between breakdowns.

I had several Seagulls. They were all pretty reliable but using a wind-on cord to start when you were drifting onto a lee shore was no fun, nor were the comments from the crew when they got a knot in the eye.

I had a fairly new Silver Century that ran very rough so, during a holiday in Poole, I took it to the works. Their engineer put it in the test tank and when I demonstrated the problem - at half throttle - he whacked the throttle full open and said 'it's 4-stroking, give it more throttle'. Such was the finesse of British engineering in the 60s.
 
I always laughed when people went on about Seagulls years ago ... get the 40+ .... 40- ..... featherweight etc. etc.

Over some years I had quite a few ... all sizes except the later recoil and Kingfisher jobs. 3kts was standard whatever boat I put any on ... must have been pitch and revs of props regardless of engine !

You could tell an experienced Seagull user ... by the timing of the fuel shut off - so last few feet to slipway etc. was with dead engine ... The inexperienced would be the one sitting waiting for engine to cut out holding onto something.

You could also tell by the class of broom handle used as extension to tiller !!
 
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You could tell an experienced Seagull user ... by the timing of the fuel shut off

[/ QUOTE ] But if you really know how to setup a Seagull you adjust the throttle so that it just idles while the tiller is horizontal but stops when you lower it.
 
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You could tell an experienced Seagull user ... by the timing of the fuel shut off

[/ QUOTE ] But if you really know how to setup a Seagull you adjust the throttle so that it just idles while the tiller is horizontal but stops when you lower it.

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Yes ... but I want carb empty when it stops ... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Problem solved if you are lucky enough to have a 40 Plus with a clutch. You can then leave it running with the fuel cock off while you load your gear into the boat. The clutch and electronic ignition/recoil were the best new bits introduced while I was there.
 
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Yes ... but I want carb empty when it stops

[/ QUOTE ] Soon empties when you tilt it ... just have to remember not to put anything in the back of the dinghy you dont want soaked in petrol and oil! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
usually forget to shut the tank vent so a bit extra from the carb does not notice /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
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You probably believe the earth is flat, and global warming will kill us all!

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No I've caught onto the fact that the world is'nt flat it's probably just people with no imagination that will kill us /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
"You could tell an experienced Seagull user ... by the timing of the fuel shut off -"

My old dad still uses his for the 1/4 mile run out to the mooring , pushes a heavy steel dinghy( the only thing able to withstand the attentions of the local scumbags).
You can hear the thing from miles away on a still evening leaving a trail of burnt whatever is lubricating it this week.
O yes and that whiff of two stroke in the car when that last drop runs out of the carb and soaks into the boot carpet. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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Yes ... but I want carb empty when it stops

[/ QUOTE ] Soon empties when you tilt it ... just have to remember not to put anything in the back of the dinghy you dont want soaked in petrol and oil! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
usually forget to shut the tank vent so a bit extra from the carb does not notice /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

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/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

People today don't know what joys they're missing !
 
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Change its gear oil as well. With a few exceptions thay take a SAE 140 grade oil


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It will be a miracle if its got any gear oil in it after 25 years storage and with those leather oil seals.
 
Should not leak out if it is not being used! The contents of the gearcase is usually an emuslified mix of gear oil and seawater that goes almost solid over time. Probably have to remove the whole casing to scrape it out - looks like margarine!

Of course my clutch gearbox has seals and never leaked a drop. such was progress 1980s style!
 
Quote: ".......You can hear the thing from miles away on a still evening leaving a trail of burnt whatever is lubricating it this week."

Yup, remember that well. Was out off Bembridge in the 70's trolling along with other locals, drifting down on the tide and all going in an anti clock circle to avoid each others towed gear. A silly sod in a speed boat thought he'd join in but circled the other way. Going hard astern to avoid sinking him when he passed under my bow pulled my gear into the prop. Stuck the old l/s Silver Century (with clutch) on the outboard bracket, cranked 'er up and trundled slowly back into harbour. The very slight wind was off the stern, so I emerged into the harbour under a choking cloud of foul smelling smoke and was greeted on the quay by the HM and a CG who had been making bets as to whether it was a Seagull or a boat fire! HM won!

That was in the days before they ruined the harbour with developments all round and bloody pontoons everywhere!
 
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