Saving Old Seagulls

Not sure what to say about this contraption. I still can't stop laughing at it
It looks like it had a wild party with a Dyson hoover and a Kenwood food mixer.

Definitely NOT my thing. Yuk

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Seagull-outb ... 1438.l2649

with the right attachment it will iron your shirt

That might be a very impressive Seagull, if he's got everything singing in tune everybody might be laughing at rather than with you!

If it was closer I'd go & have a look, You might be surprised at what it goes for!

Be honest, that is the sort of ugly only a mother could love. Maybe if you were having a race it would be useful. The guy who made it said it was just done for fun. The question that intrigues me a little is whether he came up with this in isolation or if he is in some way connected to 'the scene'.

My reasoning for laughing is this.

If as you say, he's got the thing singing then why's he selling it? If it's THAT good why not hold onto it.
Personally i don't like it at all and would only consider this for spare parts.
Not that any of that matters to me of course as i don't go racing UNLESS its on 2 wheels.
But i thought others might be interested.


I still can't see the fascination behind racing these things.
Mind you if i did ever get to go boat racing i would use something like this on a proper boat that's up to the job of going fast and taking some punishment in rough water.
This
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2015-Suzuki- ... SwB8tbgtVw
fitted onto the back of this
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ringcat-22-m ... SwmwFcdkOz
Now we're talking. Ditch the optimax and fit the suzi
Proper job.

In the Seagull world I only know a couple of people with the expertise to do this in the UK, obviously there must be more, but if he was "in the scene" & had history he'd be asking a lot more!

Most of the fun in Seagull racing is taking an agricultural outboard & making it sing better than all the others!
There is a whole heap of reading, research, thinking, calculating & grafting that goes into something like this, you might think it looks ugly, but park it among 30 boats before a race & see which one they're taking all the pictures of, & most of the clever stuff is hidden inside!

I admit there is a lot of satisfaction in winning even if all your efforts were just in throwing money at it, but there is a whole heap more when you designed & built your boat & motor yourself!

I was fascinated by the story of Henry Segrave and Gar Wood when I first heard of it. But what does this tale tell us? That despite cunning hull design and advanced engine tech, the guy with the biggest engine ultimately won? Well, perhaps. Its not the whole story to be sure.

125cc hydros regularly do 70 mph plus!

I've been offered several go's in Thundercats, but feel I'm too old & too sensible for bouncing across the surf at 50 knots.

Well, I recently went sailing in sheltered waters in a 16ft dinghy in what was reckoned to be a 23-knot blow. It was a bit white-knuckle, and I want more!!!! Outboard not needed.

Also, I have just spent a couple of hours cleaning up some barrel nuts for my 102. What have I got to show for that? Shiny nuts.

blokewithaboat wrote: I still can't see the fascination behind racing these things.

"by headdownarseup » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:08 pm

Here we are talking about modifying an old round block 102 seagull to see if we can generate a bit more power and speed without the motor self destructing itself to bits at wide open throttle, as in a racing situation "

Changed your mind then Jon

Question for you racers then.

How fast might a typical seagull powered "race boat" actually go?
From what i've seen and read, the very best hulls and motors might be capable of 20-25mph. By now somebody might be going even faster, but there must be a limit to how far you could realistically push an old seagull engine.
I suppose the real answer would be how deep your pockets are and how much time and effort you'd be willing to put into a project like this.


Me, i'm quite happy going as fast as i need to in a small boat and knowing that nothing is about to fall off or break. I do still have the motor i started working on from back then. I might do something with it, but for now there's other things that have taken priority.

Sorry guys, a seagull just doesn't go fast enough for me. And no H-A i haven't changed my mind. Sorry


For me, fast is this, on 2 wheels. Always has been and always will be i'm afraid.
Hairy chested 500cc 2stroke monster. Yummy. I can almost imagine being head down arse up on this old girl. Oh yes please!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQkWeSPTNX8
Funny, i remember my dad once introduced me to Barry when i was much younger in the early 80's. Shame he's gone now He was my idol for a long time in my days of minibike racing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whZWzdDAx0k
I've died and gone to heaven. Can you smell the 2 stroke?

or this, which shares quite a lot of its dna with the 70's/80's 2stroke race bikes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMcVQh82zgw
Yes sir! An oldy but a goody. A proper retro racer with plenty of scope for further improvements.

My bike that i've owned for the last 15 years is the smaller brother to "frankenracer" (well, nearly) with nearly identical paint scheme and just as much fun. Good for around 150mph or more with the right tweaks. Slightly outgunned these days by modern bikes but still good enough to surprise the heck out of some guys.
Mind you, i am very biased as i have a big connection to Suzuki anyway.

A couple of Stevens Tuned RG500’s stuck in the back of some old shed

Sought after machines there