why do rational people buy old Seagulls?

Birdseye

Birdseye

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It almost seems to be a rite of passage. Spend 50k or whatever on a new boat and then 50 on a tired old Seagull outboard for the tender - a piece of machinery never really worked that well when new and certainly doesnt 40 years on. Its a bit like buying pre-faded or stonewashed jeans.

Maybe thats it - I could go into business recyling old tired gear that gives you the "old sea dog" look. Wooly hats, unravelling jumpers and the obligatory faded red kecks, all decorated with splashed of Blakes Cruiser in blue. Free little booklet teaching you how to walk with a nautical gait when you've only cirumnavigated the yacht club bar.

P.S. Did you know that the Seagull was designed at a British motorcycle factory. Accounts for many things.
 
Well, I always liked them when I was a kid, mainly because they didn't have any cover over the workings of the engine and you could see the internals. Oh, and I probably liked the smoke and noise.

Probably that wouldn't have been enough to make me want to buy one 30 years later but when one came free with the boat I was buying I couldn't resist the opportunity to fire it up and see how it went.

On the other hand, for day to day use I use the Mercury ;-) and the Seagull sits in my shed. Maybe I should sell it to a Seagull enthusiast, having satisfied my chlidhood curiosity at last.

Chris
 
I know where you're coming from. I have 2 of the things in my garage, both aquired in the way you describe and both having had money spent on them to get them going as well as they ever do. Totally loopy when I think how problem free and reliable my last Mariner was. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
I love mine! it sits around for most of the year doing nothing, but on the odd day when I can't get another boat out, I pop it on a tender and chug about. It allways starts, costs next to nothing in parts/maintainence and suits my tender which is about the same age (1964) and condition!
Messing about in boats is allways fun, no matter how much they cost.
 
Easy really.
'Cos they work and keep on working, no matter how badly abused.
They are also old, ugly, can be cantankerous, a bit smelly and go better with the correct fuel.

In all respects, much like their owners.
 
I've got two. A 40FW for the tender and a 40+ for my Mirror dinghy. I would not part with them. Very reliable, never cantankerous, just a bit messy, heavy and noisy. Both date from the early 1970s although I bought them both secondhand, one in about 1980 and the other 1976
 
Why do people buy anything else?

I have been able to observe people with lesser outboards...

The Honda that gets water in the fuel when it rains, and must not be put down the wrong way...

Various Yamahas and Mariners that might as well be clockwork, to judge by the amount of string pulling that goes on...

The search for the spare pin, leaving you stranded on a dark night...

The 1972 Seagull cost a fraction of the price, has a spring in place of the pin, and has never, ever, let me down, day or night, calm or gale, rain or shine. It starts first or second pull, and stops either when told to or when it is out of fuel.

And it has style... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
And you could always call out the engineer if it dies

dead-seagull.gif
 
I like the sound and the smell. I like the fact that I have to tilt it to start, as the bang will not overcome the weight of water in the exhaust, and thus chokes itself. The daft manual says sit at the front of the boat while starting it! Tee Hee.
Its on my seawall tender when I have missed the Launchman. It sits in a damp shed until needed and gets left on the dinghy on the mooring when I go away. Its so stupidly simple, it makes me chuckle.

I have a Honda for my inflatable onboard, which vibrates and is a gruff orrid noise.

All this is odd, as I hate the Briggs and Stratton my Mum has for mowing the lawn. Its a similar vintage with the same design values.
 
Yes, yes and yes.
Mine came with the boat and decorates the garage wall. I take it for a spin now and then.
I have a Yamaha for proper moving the boat about and it starts 2nd pull every time. (it's a 4 stroke and they seem to need the extra tug).
Seagulls are everything people say, especially the noise.
But they are comfortingly old fashioned.
 
Some of us spent a lot less than £50k on the big boat, less than £6k in my case. The seagull was still a mistake though, it was too heavy for the tender and ended up at the back of the shed until I sold it (£25) to a fellow forumite. Who, I understand has taken it with him to Australia and, at last, got it going again.
I found in the past that if they are used every day they are fine. Every week and they can be a little temperamental. Less frequently and you begin to question their parentage. I've never looked back since going electric.
 
I have a Yamaha too. One day this season starts fine then runs long enough to get me out into the full current of the Menai Strait then dies! This then happens often enough to seriously cheese me off. So out to the garage, find the old Seagull that was unceremoniously abandoned 25 years ago. Free it up with a spanner on the dome nut 'cos it's seized. A few shots of WD40 in the plug hole. New spark plug and lead which I just happened to have in a draw. Fresh fuel and off she goes. Worked great for the rest of the season and didn't let me down once. OK so it was designed by a motorcycle company (but then Yamaha was a musical instrument company who also happen to make motorcycles!!). It's noisy, oily, and smelly - but it does the job and I appreciate it more than ever.

John
 
Bet you need a new needle valve in the float chamber.

oldneedle.jpg


My old one had grooves on the fins a sticky plunger at the end.

My new one solved it and cost me £26!!
 
simple answer - Nostalgia.

who didn't go boating in the sixties and early seventies, without using a Seagull somewhere along the line.

Ours wasnt on the tender, it was on a bracket on the transom of the main boat!!

when Father upgraded from a Leisure 17 to a Prelude (19) he invested in a Seagull with a clutch! At least that meant we could just put it in neutral when approaching the mooring instead of killing it altogether then hoping we had judged that we would carry enough way! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
why do rational people buy sailing boats when you could get from A to B so much more quickly and comfortably in a motor boat?

One of my favourite childhood memories is of my dad swearing under his breath as he wound the string round the top of the engine while the tide swept us slowly away from the boat.
 
Re: why do rational people buy old Seagulls? - as anchors

Great Agricultural engineering!
Good ground tackle.

Thought they were first built 'use once only' for D-Day.

Lots of 'urban myths' about them being fished out after some time immersed, washed down with fresh water & starting on first pull!

When moored in Cowes, there's one (very noisy) which screams up the Medina, seemingly early every Sunday am, the sound footprint waking all in its path. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif
 
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