Seagull outboard motor

lightning · 29 September 2010, 19:21

My friend has a "Seagull" outboard motor in her garage which she says I can have.
It looks like a 2 stroke engine? With a small fuel tank above the engine and a strange looking 4 blade prop.
How will this perform if I put it on my Zodiac 2.8m SIB? Are they very noisy?
I was thinking it might be good for the canal, where you can only do 4mph anyway, save me humping the Mariner 6hp on and off the boat.
Are these engines worth anything? It looks to be in clean condition although has not run for years.

doggypaddle · 29 September 2010, 19:28

They're not really worth much, and early ones with points ignition can run as low as 16-1 two stroke mix....not good for the canal at all, there will be a trail of oil and dead fish behind you.

pretty much 1930s technology. and designed for heavy work boats, so low gearing. high thrust but low speed.
it would be OK for free, i wouldn't pay more than a few quid for one, unless its a really desirable one.
there is plenty about them if you google it, SOS website is good (saving old seagulls)

Poly · 29 September 2010, 19:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by doggypaddle

They're not really worth much,

I thought if they were running and in good nick they went for a silly amount of money because they had a "following". i.e. you could sell it and buy a more modern (but probably not new) small aux (which may or may not be better for the given application).

martini · 29 September 2010, 19:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightning

are they very noisy?

chewy · 29 September 2010, 22:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

I thought if they were running and in good nick they went for a silly amount of money because they had a "following". i.e. you could sell it and buy a more modern (but probably not new) small aux (which may or may not be better for the given application).

Polwart is right

I wouldn't use a Seagul on a RIB but I do like them as an engine, we had an old one that ran on 10:1 oil, was noisey and smoked more than Windsor Castle after the Queen dropped a fag end.

Screaming04 · 30 September 2010, 00:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightning

Are they very noisy?.

deaf·en·ing/ˈdefəniNG/
Adjective: (of a noise) So loud as to make it impossible to hear anything else.

They've got a following all right... a blue cloud

We had one in the late 70's, the magneto would give you a hit whenever you got close while it was running.

On the plus side. It will be much lighter than the 6hp, you can't go wrong at that price. We bought ours in the same condition (it had sat for years) old gasoline had gelled in the carb. It took a bit of work but ran like a top after a good cleaning.

9D280 · 30 September 2010, 10:42

Plus side - lightweight, would push the QE2 along, run forever on a tiny tank, and hardly any moving parts to break.

Down side - Oily, smoky, noisy.

For free- yeah, I'd have one, but I do run a premix smoke generator on the rib........

alystra · 30 September 2010, 12:07

Agree with everything already said. The oil they spill also tends to drip into your boat when the engine's tilted up.

When moving mine after ten or more years in a shed I wound the string round and gave it a pull to see if it had seized.... It started.

doggypaddle · 30 September 2010, 15:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

I thought if they were running and in good nick they went for a silly amount of money because they had a "following". i.e. you could sell it and buy a more modern (but probably not new) small aux (which may or may not be better for the given application).

non runners on ebay for about £30

lightning · 30 September 2010, 18:14

Thanks for the replies.

I don't think I'll bother with it if it's noisy and drops oil into the water and the boat!

However I'll get it off her and restore it for fun (I like doing that kind of thing) and sell it on ebay

m chappelow · 30 September 2010, 19:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightning

Thanks for the replies.

I don't think I'll bother with it if it's noisy and drops oil into the water and the boat!

ahh you will soon get used to it ,,,there a bit like an old landrovers ,,and there good grounding for the younguns ,,especially if they have had their hand across the fly wheel

,,or you have the model with no clutch and a direct drive gearbox fitted with a high speed prop ,,just make sure your facing the right direction when it starts

Trevor G · 01 October 2010, 18:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightning

I don't think I'll bother with it if it's noisy and drops oil into the water and the boat!
However I'll get it off her and restore it for fun (I like doing that kind of thing) and sell it on ebay

We used to have one - never had a problem with it dropping oil in the SIB when tilted though.
It's main advantage over most other small outboards was it was so light, and easy to start. Downside was it was a bit noisy and vibrated a lot so not very comfortable to use.
It did go for over £200 on e-bay though (very clean and shown to be usable by our daughter!) so worth cleaning up and giving a bit of TLC.

bosun · 01 October 2010, 19:09

If its a posh one with recoil start and gears I sold one in unrestored but running condition for £186 on ebay
Which I was well pleased with as it came free with a boat I bought !
Get the serial number and google the seagull parts website and it'll tell you exactly what it is.
Longshaft ones sell the best apparently and the late ones will run on 20 to 1 premix so the oil slick and smoke cloud following the boat is reduced (but not much)
Early ones have an open flywheel which you wrap a bit of washing line around to pull start and are always in gear when running! They run on 10 to 1 premix but will not die whatever you do to them, they also often drip petrol into the water when running.
Not the thing for a river or canal really methinks!

Mollers · 01 October 2010, 21:07

The Old Man had a Silver Century as an aux on the old cabin heap he ran. Half a pint of any engine oil to a gal of 4*.

We accidently dropped it in the briny on a lanyard once, heaved it out, stuck it on the bracket, bumped it off with the main engine, it fired up now problem.

lizardland · 02 October 2010, 09:54

I know they were meant for displacement hulls but would a Seagull make an OK auxiliary on a small (4m) RIB?

BogMonster · 02 October 2010, 10:53

We used to have a Seagull for the old farm motorboat which was much older than I am (I remember it being really old when I was a kid 30 years ago) and used to sit in the garage for years at a time without being used, pull it out, mix up some fuel and fire it up and away we would go. I remember it as being slow (it was pushing an old lifeboat off the RRS Bransfield usually with three or four people in) and noisy/smoky but eternally reliable.

It's probably still in the bowels of the farm workshop somewhere - I must try and find it .... the rest of the boat blew away in a storm and all we found was the transom washed up on a beach a few miles away but I now have a SIB which could be used to give it an outing

9D280 · 04 October 2010, 13:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by lizardland

I know they were meant for displacement hulls but would a Seagull make an OK auxiliary on a small (4m) RIB?

I gave that some semi serious thought for my old SR4 when I saw a runner going for £30, but the thing that put me off was the method of it keeping up out the water - I didn't reckon it would handle the thrashing it would get on the rib.

Ironically I was then given a Johnson 2 (early 70s vintage) which went one better - it uses friction to keep it up. - Now has a block of wood and a bungee for that!

m chappelow · 04 October 2010, 14:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9D280

but the thing that put me off was the method of it keeping up out the water - I didn't reckon it would handle the thrashing it would get on the rib.

yes you would have thought that a tilt lock would have been better thought of though, i suppose they thought that in the old days it was easier to pull out the pin and remove the whole engine from the clamp ,mind i suppose in those days aux engines were rare anyhow on boats and you wouldent have the engine tilted up bouncing on the back end of a transom ,

on the subject of power ,few years ago a guy with an old seagull on a 6o x 14 foot barge came through on the local canal, only slow mind ,
mart

Downhilldai · 04 October 2010, 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by lightning

I don't think I'll bother with it

Think laterally - one day your garden may need rotovating.

lightning · 18 October 2010, 17:21

The lady has now decided she wants paying for it. Not unreasonable I guess.

How much should I offer? It's been stored in their garage for ages, paint etc a bit tatty but looks undamaged, ran last time they used it but that was years ago.

£30? £100? What's it worth?