Saving Old Seagulls

hi hall
with the warning of my coil being old and i should get a new one

1 would it be better to use a cd unit

2 what do i nead to do

thanks for looking

If it's not broke it doesn't need fixing!

With all due respect to other people's opinions, the answer to the question might be usefully prefaced with the comment that it will depend on how the engine is used.

If you just chug around on the upper reaches of a peaceful river, ignition failure would probably be no more than mildly annoying.

If, on the other hand, you venture into tidal waters with their various attendant hazards lying in wait for the unprepared, then reliability matters and preventative maintenance is the intelligent and safe option.

The above philosophy is magnified if you have other people with you on your boat, because they've entrusted their safety to your equipment and your good judgement.

If your Seagull is just an ornament then by all means leave it as is. But if it isn't just an ornament then you might want to consider the above points. In which case, if I had any reservations about the reliability of the ignition system, I'd refurbish / upgrade as required.

Cheers,

C

Good point Chris, but using a Seagull in a situation where a pair of oars would not be suitable to save the day, might be considered to be irresponsible!

I think Charles and I are pretty much in accord on this one.

What it seems to boil down to is this: always take oars (don't forget the rowlocks) and don't go further with your Seagull than you can row!

That said, back in the mists of time I Seagulled my bass boat from Poole harbour to Swanage a couple of times, and I definitely wouldn't have fancied rowing it. Or even half of it.# On the other hand the engine was a new WSPCL, so I didn't need to.

Going back to the original question about the coil, many years ago when I tinkered around a lot, I converted a Seagull with an "iffy" Wipac coil to external coil ignition. It worked remarkably well - but the modification is understandably not one that would be considered legitimate by Seagull purists!

C

oh tell us more about your modefercation . i am very intrested

No one has answered his question yet.

You can't fix a CDI when it stops working with a bit of wet & dry & a feeler gauge, when they die they're dead.

You will have to get yourself, a good working CDI ignition either a Wypac mk 3 or a mk 4, a CDI base plate, base plate support system, a mk 3 or a mk 4 flywheel that matches your CDI, a starter cup/rope sheave, a starter cup spacer, the correct flywheel nut & washer.

It might cheaper to buy another working Seagull.