why do rational people buy old Seagulls?

Ashamed to say that when I bought my Corribee many years ago it had TWO Seagulls,an inboard that I tolerated out of curiosity for one week and then ripped out with er enthusiasm ,and a 40 featherweight that became the ships main propulsion,complete with miniature alternator and clutch!Had to sit on the stern to keep the prop biting but still managed to SAIL/drift the central Channel and Alderney that first summer.
The old story about there being only one moving part on a Seagull-The arm of the guy trying to start it- is, imo,only partly true /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Ah the Seagull......the marine equivalent of a Harley Davidson...engineering so old fashioned owners are delighted when it works at all.

Its not an engine.... its a hobby and religion rolled into one. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I'm not in the least surprised!

A Seagull does not require " a fresh, cold, plug" should its owner wish to re-start it when hot, it does not have a piston water pump, it does not have a magneto sitting out in the open poised to collect each passing drip... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
Yes, I am with Mirelle on this one. Sentiment was probably the main reason I bought, this year, a 1964 forty plus. My fondest childhood memory was being able to start my dinghys forty at the age of around 8. Now 50 years later I temporally put to one side my "modern" [25 year old] Tohatsu and went cruising with the Seagull as tender power. A case of heart ruling head! Seagull started and ran perfectly every time. A simple set of bits for my Tohatsu [plug, fuel tap, impeller] came to more than the purchase price of the Seagull. It even has near perfect chrome work and coincidently is the same age as the parent boat. Also, dare I say it, Seagulls add a welcome change to the same/same appearance of modern outboards, but then the same could [probably] be said of the boats they serve....
 
I remember when goodge said to you and I "How come you two know so much about crappy little yachts?"

Your reply was "because I learned to sail in em."

Mine was" because I used to envy people with them when learning in even crappier and smaller yachts." /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

if we all thought logically none of us would sail at all ,this is where the seagull fits in.
 
Re: why do rational people buy old Seagulls? - as anchors - UGH !!

Yes they were used by MoD .... and most are still working ...

Yes I've seen mine and others get dunked ... hose down, change fuel - not always !! .... pull and start after few pulls ...

I "upgraded" to a Yamaha 5 from one on my Alacrity .... first dunk it got on back of boat - died. Took ages and lots of TLC to get it to work again. Seagull back on boat - which seemed to say to me when I wanted it to start ... Now I'll teach you to be a traitor .... but after couple of runs was sweet as a peach again ... silly me put the Yamaha back on ...

Me ? Yes I'd have a Seagull again .... the sound and smell is unmistakeable !!
 
This is a sailing forum

Not the best place to seek rational behaviour

Someone pays tens of thousands of pounds to buy a toy that costs thousands more a year to keep in servicable condition to travel at walking speed - mostly ending where it started - leaving its occupants frequently cold and wet, occasionally physically ill -

And you worry about an irrational choice of an outboard motor??????????
 
I have had two, one started first time evry time the other one was the bane of my life and SWMBO made me take it down the garden and shoot it then down the auction room. The ned of an era thank heavens
 
To rationalise it from an environmental perspective, you could mention the fact that all these engines, (and cars and trucks, and probably boats too) use far more energy during their production, than they they ever do during their working lives.
I have heard figures of 80% of all the energy used up by a car during its life being used during its production. In this vein, someone who carries on using old gear far beyond its normal working life is actually doing the planet a favour, now matter how smelly oily and noisy the item is in action. I don't own a Seagull, but that's my excuse for using a 40 year old Sea Bee which, apart from having a recoil starter, is just as "agricultural" to modern eyes /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif!
 
I'm with Mirelle and Richard5 (and others) on this one. The Seagull - in this day and age - has style. Oily, heavy, grimy, doesn't like any weed round the prop, plus probably some other disadvantages. Versus evocative noise and smells, dependable if you know it well, simple... err... great!
 
"Thought they were first built 'use once only' for D-Day."

The MOD spec was that they should run for 24hrs. NON-STOP! That's actually quite a spec, They were mostly used for shifting pontoon bridge sections etc Have a look at this site;

This guy is a Seagull genius and will have any part you need (unlike Suzuki who can't supply a fuel tap for my 10year old DT2) http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/ Loads of supper info as well including date your engine.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Old Seagulls are sexy..........

[/ QUOTE ]

Doesnt say much for your sex life /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Dirty, smelly, messy, noisy, rarely get there.....


hmmm.... perhaps you are right after all /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
and, run out of juice at the wrong moment.

On the other hand, you can leave them alone for ages but they still fire up when you want them to.
 
I saw a really interesting "conversion" at a boat jumble a couple of years ago. Some enterprising engineer had thrown away the petrol bit and replaced it with a 12v motor off an ATCO lawnmower! Drive via 'V' belt and a pair of large crocodile clips to attach it to the battery!

As my father would have said "Neat but not gaudy, like a bulls ar$e sewn up with bicycle chain"!
 
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