Thread: Old outboard

Seagulls seem to be like old Volksies.
People either love 'em or hate 'em.
You'll find write-ups at each extreme but not much in the middle.

On a purely practical note which reflects my eccentricities rather than yours...

I had a 1983 6hp (2stroke 2 cylinder) Johnson on mine. It was mounted on a transom-
hung galv angle iron bracket, sporting a 40mm plywood mounting plate. It achieved a
quite reasonable speed at around 1/2 throttle in any wind or sea state. If the wind
started blowing the boat around too much, just drop the CB far enough to cure it.
Higher throttle settings produced a modest increase in speed but a big increase in wake.

However, it was too noisy to enjoy going that bit faster, even with good deadening in
the powerhead cover & well-buried exhaust port. The engine itself was smoothe &
quiet. At idle it was very quiet indeed. A lovely, lovely little donk. Most of the noise
was the transom drumming from engine vibes. I packed the transom bracket &
mounting plate with neoprene & did same with the bracket bolts, which reduced the
noise but not enough to my taste.

In retrospect, the transom probably could have used some serious stiffening, and it
is likely that the as-designed O/B well would be a quieter mount than my transom-
hung bracket.

My point is that I doubt you'll be able to make a Seagull run as smoothly as that old
Johnnie. And unlike a fire pump or generator on land, you can't move far away from
the motor on a 16ft boat !!

However, if a bit of motor noise is to your liking...

Something to consider anyway.
cheers
AJ

I've seen more criticism of seagulls than praise, but I admit I don't follow such things.

Consider this: If you drive a 35 chev truck and it stops, you roll to the side of the road and organise pickup or repair. If your in a dinghy in a current and a savage lee shore and your seagull fails what happens next ?

I love classic pretty and impractical things as much as anyone, but on my boat I would have the most reliable and meticulously maintained engine I can find, only because the consequences of failure are signifigant, not only for me but more importantly my crew.

On the other hand much of my sailing has been done without a motor of any kind so perhaps I'm a hippocrite or perhapse without a motor I never do anything that might require one.

I don't know. 2c.

Yeah I guess that is probably what I really need to know. How bad is it if the motor fails? I am probably not going on any big voyages, just cruises along the coast on sunny days so I was kinda thinking if the motor fails I just sail it back.

Is that naive of me?

The noise is a bit of a concern though, sounds like a great way to ruin a relaxing days sailing.

Nope, but answer me this:

With no motor can you sail up to, and more importantly off, a jetty regardless of which way the winds is blowing ? Assuming your talking about a hartley TS16 can you sail up to your trailer and onto it ? can you be sure you can sail off a lees shore if the conditions turn against you ?

I'd like to clarify I'm not critisizing you, I don't know who you are or your background so I'm asking the question. I've made a point of learning to sail my boat in adverse circumstances, things like emergency gybes to pick up a man overboard (or a dropped bottle of sunscreen ). I have been bewildered in the past at how reliant some "sailors" are on an engine, but there is a further issue. Just adding a motor can change your attitude. "I'll do that because the motor will fix it if it goes wrong" sort of thing... Again I'm not saying that's you, I'm just raising the issue.

Boats are inherently safe, until they aren't, then they are really really dangerous. That usually happens when people become complacent or tired, or distracted or whatever. If putting a parachute on board makes you less paranoid, and that parachute turns out not to open when you need it to you may well have dug yourself into a hole.

If it were me I'd be sticking a yamaha 4 stroke on, but it's not very romantic is it

Couple of girls in bikinis and a good pair of oars ? (why is it the only bikini girls I've ever seen on yachts are on the covers of magazines? Either I'm moving in the wrong circles or there is something wrong with ME )

Anyway I'm sure whatever you decide will be fine...I'm just a worrier..

Nah thats probably a fair call. At this stage I have zero sailing ability which is probably why I ask just dumb questions .

But I think that answers my questions. I will need to get a reliable motor given my lack of sailing skills.

p.s. I will be doing some sailing courses through a mate of mine before the boat is done .

Five odd years ago, I was party to a conversation between a few gentlemen with long experience of old boatie stuff. The Seagull was rated as a brilliant motor - when they worked, they were brilliant but when they didn't, they made a brilliant anchor. There was nothing in between.

Mate, if you like pfaffing about with old stuff, the Seagull will give you hours of harmless entertainment and may indeed propell your boat into the bargain - the same can be said of any old outboard. If you're after something to drive your boat around, get a modern motor. Besides which, have you noticed how quiet and smooth the modern 4 strokes are?

Personally, if you really want to play old outboards, build or rebuild yourself an old boat and do it properly. My thirty year old MGB will never again be a modern car (she wasn't when she was new ), and compared to the Falchoon, she's a pain in the bum, but man does she provide the smiles. I've had MGBs as my only motor car and wouldn't fear doing it again, but would prefer not to. The same applies to your outboard. Kit out the TS16 with a good, modern motor ... then organise yourself a vintage project for those days when pfaffing about is all part of the fun

Richard

Well Richard you will have noticed from the pics i already have one of those. My old Land Rover

Originally Posted by hereselmo1

Well Richard you will have noticed from the pics i already have one of those. My old Land Rover

So you'll know what I refer to my fellow daft git

Richard

I'd love an old 4 cylinder Land Rover with the ally body and cloth top, but can't for the life of me come up with a justification for one

Originally Posted by Daddles

I'd love an old 4 cylinder Land Rover with the ally body and cloth top

That's your justification right there isn't it?

Better buy a tow rope too though

oh...oh...be still, my beating heart...I'm a recovering Land Roverholic. Had a S111 (and more recently a V8 Defender 90), but was seriously, hopelessly in love with my S1 (1955) in the '70's, and my S11A (1970) in the '90's. Daddles is absoludle right. Love the classics, but
have a non-emotional relationship with the machine you rely upon.

Sea Gull's are extremely reliable, but this assumes you take reasonable care. In fact, all outboards can be extremely reliable with reasonable care.

The typical Sea Gull is a much nosier beast then an average outboard. It's the way the exhaust is handled and not much you can do about it. The basic design is very old and well refined over the years (it's amazing the people that couldn't engineer a Jag to run for more then two days in a row, have produced this thing), proving to be a damned reliable beast. They also smell a lot worse then other outboards. This is their oil/fuel ratio and the intentionally sloppy fit of the machined parts and you guessed it, you can't do much about this either (stiff upper lip crap I think).

In short, they will run darn near underwater, but they stink and are loud. In a small daysailor, I'd look at a 4 stroke for peace and quite and no smell. If you're half deaf like me, then what do you can how loud it is.

Wot he said. I have had several Seagulls and they were ultra reliable, always started first pull, but LOUD!!!!! Sealing the joint at the lower end of the "muffler" helps and blocking up the two holes just below the cylinder, against all the instructions, but still LOUD!!! Mind you, there is loads of torque, ideal as a yacht auxilliary. I put my last Seagull on ebay after it had sat in the garage for over 10 years, gathering dust. The buyer wanted to see it running, so a bit of fuel from the lawnmower and it started first pull. ( they actually need a different oil/fuel mix but it still worked.)

Bah, you lot have no clue. Not only have I owned a TR3A, MGB, Herald 1200 coupe, X1/9, 74 Range Rover (man steer no air) and probably half a dozen other "classic" cars I can't remember, I have also had the great privlege of paying the bills of about a dozen Ducati motorcycles and a gaggle of guzzis, Jawa, Indian and on and on it goes.

You might say I suffer from serial stupidity

You can make anything perfectly reliable. I had only a ducati for everyday transport for years and was never stranded. The trick is to know your beast and anticipate it's needs. But reliable and low maintenance and cheap to run are different things...very different things.

hereselmo1: Seriously for a moment, I cannot recommend highly enough some sailing tuition. The Hartley 16, if that is what you've got, is a fine boat and ideal to learn on. Be warned sailing is terribly addictive. Cover up so the sun doesn't burn you, remember the sunglasses for the glare, and you'll have more fun than...well...