Refurbishing the Seagull.

Draft WIP - the post and the engine.

I used the Seagull outboard (a 78cc, model 40+ Mk2 made in May 1976 - so the same age as Sancerre) on the dinghy in 2017 & 2018, then one day in May 2019 motoring into Alderney's Braye harbour, it conked out and I had a long row back to the boat.

Sancerre (centre), the only visitor in March 2019, in May I was at the far
end and it is further than it looks.

I was now in a quandary, it was only a few weeks till the Jester Baltimore Challenge  and with the size of Baltimore harbour and the distance from the anchorage to the shore I needed a reliable outboard; with the time constraint I lashed out on a new Mariner 4 stroke that works fine but it is heavy. 

Fellow Jester Sailor Mike using his Seagull to return to his
A9m "Tranquillity" once we had been able to move relatively
close to the dinghy landing in Baltimore. He was able to store the
motor in the lazarette although I would not want petrol in there,
especially alongside the diesel heater.

As it turned out I was able to quickly fix the Seagull with a new carburettor from Saving old Seagulls (recommended) but I took the Mariner on that trip and on return I moved from Haslar Marina to a trot mooring on the Hamble where I definitely needed a reliable engine with up to 3 knots of tide to cope with and preferably a reasonably quite one as I would be going to and from the yacht club quite often and occasionally 3 miles up river to Deacon's where I was storing the boat over winter. Whilst on the mooring I did not need to hoist it aboard keeping it in the car boot until a space became available in the RAFYC outboard store, so I stuck with the new Mariner.

To overcome the weight issue I built a removable hoist that
works well but as mentioned in a previous post I rarely used it
usually rowing in or taking a water taxi. Rigging the hoist takes a
few minutes but getting the motor securely onto the dinghy single
handed takes a good deal longer.

Now I am back in a marina the Seagull becomes more attractive. I can, and probably will, still use the hoist but the motor being relatively light and with no oil to get into the wrong places, I can lower it into the dinghy then move it into position rather than lowering it directly onto the transom with the dinghy moving up and down with the waves or as I move in it, a straight forward operation if there is two of you but trickier single handed.

After 5 years in dry storage when it was never run, the Seagull started first pull after being given a new spark plug and fresh fuel but some tidying up was in order, especially for the fuel tank.

It was a lot of work to get to this stage removing the original paint,
lacquer (over the decal) and later additions. It is rather bashed about
but a steel tank this old would probably have rusted out from the
inside long ago. Fortunately the black paint job makes the dents less
noticeable.

The Seagull was in production for years with loads made in the 1950s, 60's and 70's with the design not changing much over the years. Usually they are very reliable and certainly into the 1970s Cornish inshore fisherman would take their "punts" (largish, heavy wooden dinghies - not what you see at Oxford or Cambridge) out to the difficult waters around the Longships and Wolf Rock with just a Seagull and a pair of oars for propulsion. 

Many (the engines and the fishermen 😀, one of whom I know) have lasted incredibly well helped by quality materials such as the brass tanks, bronze fittings and gears, and a centrifugal water pump that does not wear out or break as do modern impellers. 

Newly painted with a new transfer in the old style from Saving
Old Seagulls. It says use a 10:1 fuel - oil mixture although
this 1976 Mark II 40+ with a Bing carburettor will happily run
without modification at a more normal 25:1 but the transfer
is authentic to the original. 

After refitting I found that the fuel tap was leaking fuel like mad, it had held fuel in the tank for 5 years but the cork seal on the "pull for on" tap dried out in less than a week. It is a known problem with a known solution but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. The moving piece with the cork was removed and soaked in hot water (initially boiling hot) for 15 minutes, dried, grease applied and when refitted it worked fine.

The prop stripped and painted. I was slightly surprised to
see what looks like a casting mark left intact.
It is not high tech but it works and similar designs were used
on a lot of engines, some larger ones have 5 blades and,
despite relatively low power, can push a surprisingly heavy boat.

 

Repaint under way, the fly wheel I did previously
and is still in good condition. The gearbox oil has
been changed as has the gear box plug and the propeller
spring and split pin. The spring was looking a bit
tired so I swapped it with my spare.

Note that the flywheel is exposed and there is no recoil starter, health and safety would not be impressed and they could probably not be made now given product liability issues. Also there is no kill cord (it is possible to fit them but hardly anyone does as it can create other issues), no twist grip or stop button, you stop the engine by closing the throttle leaver all the way.

Operationally the biggest issue is the lack of a clutch, pull the string and you are off, not a big issue if there is someone to hold onto the mother ship when you are starting but it can require a bit of faith that it will start if you are single handed and there is a strong wind or current. Also you can't turn it through 180 degrees for reverse, probably no bad thing given the whizzing fly wheel.

For anyone tempted they are pretty cheap in this country (but take care there are a lot of duff ones out there) £100 - £150 for a decent runner, although good old ones can be eye watering expensive in the USA where they are collectors items. In this country and elsewhere things are more relaxed. 

You will need some imperial (Whitworth and AF) spanners. Check out the  Saving old Seagulls FAQs and the active Facebook group(s), I follow Seagull Outboard fans | Facebook

For readers with an Achilles 24: Being designed for displacement hulls a 102cc Silver Century (or Century +) with a clutch would appear to be a good option as a prime engine and one that should drive an A24 well, probably better than many modern engines designed for light craft; but think twice, being in a well you would get a lot of noxious fumes coming into the cockpit even with a 25:1 fuel mix, and they can be noisy so not good over long distances.

A few more pics to come when the job is done.