Good old British Seagull (not the bird type)
Discussion
Fond memories of those!
I worked at a Broadland boatyard when I was at school in the 80's, I remember a very confident and cocky man showing me how to start one of these on his yacht so he could take it through the bridge by the the boatyard, the only thing he done wrong was to have a rope that was too long, you can guess the rest but it involved several broken fingers!
I worked at a Broadland boatyard when I was at school in the 80's, I remember a very confident and cocky man showing me how to start one of these on his yacht so he could take it through the bridge by the the boatyard, the only thing he done wrong was to have a rope that was too long, you can guess the rest but it involved several broken fingers!
Horrendous bits of kit! I had one when I was a kid. Unreliable, ludicrously polluting, starting it was almost guaranteed to cause a back injury if cold and multiple injuries at any time!
Just had @ClassicSeagulls follow me (@MatrixLloyd) - it seems there is still a healthy market for these things...
Just had @ClassicSeagulls follow me (@MatrixLloyd) - it seems there is still a healthy market for these things...
Benjaminpalma said:
Horrendous bits of kit! I had one when I was a kid. Unreliable, ludicrously polluting, starting it was almost guaranteed to cause a back injury if cold and multiple injuries at any time!
Just had @ClassicSeagulls follow me (@MatrixLloyd) - it seems there is still a healthy market for these things...
They work and you can fix them with a hammer.Just had @ClassicSeagulls follow me (@MatrixLloyd) - it seems there is still a healthy market for these things...
dirkgently said:
Benjaminpalma said:
Horrendous bits of kit! I had one when I was a kid. Unreliable, ludicrously polluting, starting it was almost guaranteed to cause a back injury if cold and multiple injuries at any time!
Just had @ClassicSeagulls follow me (@MatrixLloyd) - it seems there is still a healthy market for these things...
They work and you can fix them with a hammer.Just had @ClassicSeagulls follow me (@MatrixLloyd) - it seems there is still a healthy market for these things...
When I was young I had a Suzuki 2.2 like that, all the stickers were taken off the tank so it was stripped down for racing. I actually got our Avon redstart ( it had the wooden floorboards) on the plane with some judicious weight distribution!
But the Seagull just looks better........
But the Seagull just looks better........
We had a silver century very similar to that in the pic, given to us by a friend who bought it as a back up for the small cabin cruiser/fishing day boat he built. Not sure it ever actually ran in anger, but it was tested.
Think we sold it in the end, but it was a while back.
We had a smaller c 2hp more recent Seagull (looking much the same other than the odd bit of plastic "update") and remember bouncing my way down the Sound of Sleat near the Isle of Skye in a 6 foot dinghy as a 12 year old 30 odd years ago. Still used it as a tender outboard occaisonally 20 years later, but it eventually seized and we weren't able to sort it.
It was an absolute pig compared to the comparable lightweight Jap stuff; very heavy, dripped out of most orifices, didn't like to start from warm (or often cold for that matter), but as you say had the sort of charm that a Series Landrover has and could generally be relied on to work (usually) without us bothering to maintain it.
Think we sold it in the end, but it was a while back.
We had a smaller c 2hp more recent Seagull (looking much the same other than the odd bit of plastic "update") and remember bouncing my way down the Sound of Sleat near the Isle of Skye in a 6 foot dinghy as a 12 year old 30 odd years ago. Still used it as a tender outboard occaisonally 20 years later, but it eventually seized and we weren't able to sort it.
It was an absolute pig compared to the comparable lightweight Jap stuff; very heavy, dripped out of most orifices, didn't like to start from warm (or often cold for that matter), but as you say had the sort of charm that a Series Landrover has and could generally be relied on to work (usually) without us bothering to maintain it.
I have been laid up after a minor op and daydreaming about things to do this coming boating season. Now the boat is in the water I was looking for a second hand 5hp LS as an aux thinking the old Silver Century is a bit past its best.
However having been on http://www.classicseagulls.co.uk/ I have had a change of heart, they are opening a base down here and I fancy getting it restored to factory fresh with a modification to run on 25:1 rather than the very smoky 10:1.
Bottom line none of the little 5hp Jap engines really cut the mustard, the Seagull was designed to push a displacement vessel with its man sized prop and is probably less attractive to thieves (never been a major concern thankfully).
However having been on http://www.classicseagulls.co.uk/ I have had a change of heart, they are opening a base down here and I fancy getting it restored to factory fresh with a modification to run on 25:1 rather than the very smoky 10:1.
Bottom line none of the little 5hp Jap engines really cut the mustard, the Seagull was designed to push a displacement vessel with its man sized prop and is probably less attractive to thieves (never been a major concern thankfully).
I read that quote somewhere recently too, I'm quite sure that being the anchor was not the design brief initially but they certainly did need to be able to start after total immersion.
There is quite a few websites with a lot of history of the brand which is quite interesting, read this one if you can be bothered http://www.britishseagull.co.uk/history.php or http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/history/histo...
These pages have certainly rekindled the love for mine!!
There is quite a few websites with a lot of history of the brand which is quite interesting, read this one if you can be bothered http://www.britishseagull.co.uk/history.php or http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/history/histo...
These pages have certainly rekindled the love for mine!!
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