The British Seagull is responsible for making more great sailors than any other device in history, and for more sea stories. Still building great sailing skills today, providing valuable ballast and field expedient anchors. I think maybe a new nautical term was invented...
Jack: "I went Seagulling" today..."
Hazlewood: "Do you mean motoring?"
Jack: "No. Seagulling."
We have one in our garage that we are circling nervously. Our quest is to get it running...in a bucket...but will we? It is our Everest.
Do you have a Seagull story to share? Please post it below in the comment. And parents, be advised, Seagulling is where Skipper learned most of her Sailor Words as a child.
The British Seagull outboards are reliable and last forever, the old models used 3/4 pint of oil to 1 gallon of petrol, part of the reason they don't wear out. Maintaining them is simple, just a very basic set of tools is all that's required. Change the points, spark plug and gearbox oil every so often and they will never let you down. Later models used less oil, making them a little less smokey and a bit more friendly to the environment, but the carbon footprint of a Seagull outboard motor that lasts forever is hard to beat, especially today when so much is disposable.
ReplyDeleteThe exposed flywheel provides a lesson in self preservation awareness, losing the starting cord over the side provides a lesson in ensuring back up plans. A spare spark plug, propeller spring and starting cord are essential spares to carry at all times.I've spent a whole day trolling for fish with the engine on tick over, only using one tank of fuel.
Hi Doug, I knew that you would know the truth behind the Seagull. Take care of it and it will take care of you. We have all the bits to start on ours, including Whitworth tools. It's on the To Do list.
DeleteAnd thank you for sharing the knowledge!
DeleteI hope you have the correct size of Whitworth hammer, you'll need it.😉
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ReplyDeleteAs a youngster, my friends and I used to regularly go sea fishing, mostly from the shore, we lived a 15 minutes walk away from the Plymouth waterfront and the historic Barbican. When fishing, some of the professional fishermen would offer useful advice, as well as providing free bait, such as Squid or Mackerel. Amongst the people who'd stop and chat with us was George Chapter, a retired Customs Officer, he was a legend in the world of fishermen, he held the UK record for rod caught Sea Bass at over 18lbs. A record that stood for many years, possibly still stands today. He was a genuinely nice man, everyone knew him, everyone liked and respected him. He owned an old 16ft clinker dinghy, it was painted on the outside with numerous coats of Black Varnish and a white stripe at the gunwale, the inside was liberally coated with pitch, so much so that it was hardly recognizable as clinker built. One day, George said he'd be willing to takes a few of us Bass fishing at the Eddystone Reef, but only with permission from our parents, which we eagerly obtained.
ReplyDeleteGeorge had an old Seagull outboard, one that was used in the D Day landings. It's compression was so low, simply spinning the flywheel by hand started it. Because the motor was so worn, he only ventured out in calm weather, using the tides to his advantage, but the Seagull never let him down. Upon arrival at the famed Eddystone Reef, he'd wait for the swell to rise, then open the throttle to ride over the Reef to fish the gulley between the jagged rocks the Eddystone Lighthouse towering above him.
A few of us took advantage of his kind offer, we were rewarded with a couple of memorable fishing trips to the
Eddystone Reef where we caught some big fish, in exchange, we clubbed our pocket money together to buy him some oil and petrol. One of the more remarkable things we learnt from George, he only ever used a wide rubber band cut to a long tapered shape and tied to his hook as bait. A remarkable man with a good understanding of the sea, with an amazing reliable old Seagull outboard motor. Quite a character, you won't find any lijehim tgese days.
DeleteThe Understanding part sounds key. Thanks for sharig his story.
DeleteThe two posts above should have just been one post, big fingers small screen, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. 😉
ReplyDeleteAye aye sir!
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