>I'd know your opinion about BRITISH SEAGULL OB engines.
>
Jose-
I believe Seagull is now making some modern outboards in addition to the
classics, but I can only speak for the old style Seagull, the design of
which dates back into the 1940s, I believe. In the 60s and 70s Seagulls
were the motors usually sold with Potters.
My Forty Plus is now 31 years old and has never been disassembled. It is
probably the lowest maintenance motor you will ever find. (The clearances
are apparently so loose that it just doesn't wear.) It needs a sparkplug
once in a while, and I had to replace the fuel tap in the bottom of the
tank. I also replaced the throttle cable once. I use it in saltwater but
never flush it. I hose it off at the same time I wash down my 31-year-old
trailer. When I think of it I spray the motor with WD-40 and wipe it down.
The shafts are still mostly shiny, chrome-plated, I think. The motor is
lightweight, about 28 lb without gas and bracket, and it drives the P15
very well. It has a shock absorbing spring on the propeller instead of a
shear pin and I've never had to replace it. It has sometimes seemed
unreliable, quitting abruptly for no apparent reason, then refusing to
start. However, for the past year it has been totally reliable. It
presently starts on two or three pulls when cold and unprimed and on one
pull when warmed up. Perhaps, after 28 years, we have finally reached an
accommodation - the Seagull and me. But then I use it little, preferring to
sail when possible.
On the negative side:
There is no reverse or neutral in this model. You can't even rotate it 180
degrees to reverse. There is no ignition shorting switch; you stop the
motor by closing the throttle. If that doesn't work I choke it off by
closing the carburetor throat with my thumb. It doesn't have a recoil
starter so each pull requires winding the starting rope around the pulley.
(There is an accessory recoil starter that can be added, but on my boat it
would have prevented uptilting the motor. Jon Hunolt finds the recoil
starter addition works fine on his outboard bracket.) The motor oozes gear
oil and is apparently designed to do so. The oil mixture, at least on my
old motor, is 10 to 1, which has probably contributed to its longevity in
saltwater. ( I put a pint of oil in a can then pump in 1.25 gallons of
gas.)
The motor is NOISY. The gnarly sound is satisfying when it starts up, but
the noise and vibration will turn your brain to jelly in a half hour or so.
The rotating pulley and housing is exposed, which simplifies maintenance
but requires caution to keep your hands clear of the spinning parts. The
owners manual is entertaining, apparently written by a crusty old salt with
little patience for people who don't follow instructions or exercise common
sense. Seagull's motto is "the Best Outboard Motor for the World." On two
occasions I have attempted to surf on a wake, and on both occasions the
motor swallowed some water and quit. On one of those occasions I was just
entering Anaheim Bay in Southern California, a Navy motors-only area, and I
had to hitch a tow from a passing power boat after a loud hailer warned me,
"Get that sailboat out of the harbor!" There is a "storm cowl" available to
reduce the chance of getting water in the carburetor. I installed one but
soon managed to hook a sheet on it, flipping into the sea. (Jon Hunolt had
the same experience with a storm cowl on his Seagull.) It seemed to use
more gas with the storm cowl.
Would I buy another Seagull? No. I have ordered a 70 lbf thrust MinnKota
electric motor, which I intend to be my primary auxiliary, but I will also
probably carry my faithful old Seagull as a backup when I venture out on
big water. The Seagull fits neatly into the lazarette of a gunter rig or Mk
I Potter, and I've been able to mount it on the bracket while underway,
even in some chop.
After Stanley Smith was washed ashore on his trip to Sweden, he eventually
resumed the trip, accompanied by the buyer of the boat, who provided a new,
higher powered motor of a different make, but the new motor soon conked
out, and it was the old Seagull that pushed the Potter the final cold,
snowy miles to their destination.
Harry Gordon
P14 #234, Manatee
Mountain View, CA