Which seagull do you like best - Poll

[Oyster 49]

A bit of fun - Cast your vote now Poll will run for 7 days. Only 1 vote, but you can change your mind and re-vote.

[Robin Anderson]

Forty Featherweight or a 40 Plus for me as they can be used on any dingy or tender and thus can still be kept in regular use even if one gets a bigger cruising boat. Best vintge was from the mid 1970s range with great build quality, proper brass tank, none of the electrics or f-n gearbox which came in later years.

Robin
Pleiades of Birham
MXWQ5

[electrosys]

SD Bargepusher ... it's the prop that does it - brings a smile to my face whenever I see it ... no other Seagull does that.

[charlesp]

SD Bargepusher - hmmm..

There are SDs:

and Barge Pushers:

The difference - the thing that makes it a barge pusher rather than just a 102 - is the huge gearbox and the hefty propellor:

[Oyster 49]

So far the century is leading by a nose, but the combined SD and 102 vote says a lot. Keep those votes coming

[Charles uk]

Don't we get to see the results as they happen, is this a secret poll?

[Oyster 49]

I can see the votes cast even when not logged in. Can anybody else?

[livewire]

I saw the results after i casted my vote but not before.

Very difficult to pick one engine but i went for a 40 minus. It was my first seagull and was impressed with it's performace for it's size/weight.

[charlesp]

It's hard to choose just one. I like the teardrop Marstons - well the OA anyway. It's quirky and high quality, and it has appealing lines which are spoilt by the complicated forward/neutral/reverse arrangements of the other teardrops.

I like the classic simplicity of the transitional Marstons, still all the quality of Marston manufacture with the simple functionality of the 102 series.

And a strong pull towards the ever-so-cute Little Model Forty. The very first of British Seagull's 'in-house' designs; compact, light, and for me very appealing. This is the one I actually voted for.

The Centuries and the Forties sort of leave me a bit cold. Functional, sure, but not really endearing.

I like my Kingfisher as a functional motor, in fact it's due to replace the model 90 on my boat in the next couple of weeks when the EFNR comes home for a bit of TLC. But the Kingfisher isn't pretty.

The 170 just sits there in the workshop. Maybe someday I'll give it a bit of a birthday but there's very little mojo for the task.

I have never even handled a 5R, but I am not attracted to them at all.

The Twins are just too big to be interesting.

So I'll settle for my small collection of FVs...

[electrosys]

The difference - the thing that makes it a barge pusher rather than just a 102 - is the huge gearbox and the hefty propellor:

Would never have guessed ....

"it's the prop that does it - brings a smile to my face whenever I see it ... no other Seagull does that."

My guess is that it's a psychological thing - same response from kittens and their over-sized (relatively speaking) eyes; lion cubs and their over-sized paws - plenty of similar examples.

[Charles uk]

I'm not sure this poll is asking the right question, to answer the "which Seagull you like best" query requires the answerer to have experience of the motor or at least to have seen one used.

Perhaps the question should have read, which Seagull in perfect condition would you most like to be given.

[charlesp]

I have been offered Seagulls in mint condition in the past, and it's astonishing what some people understand by the term.

A truly mint SD or transitional Marston 102 would float my boat pretty well, but I would love to see a mint Little Model Forty, especially one with the 'stick-straight-out-of-the crankcase' tiller and the very early tiny Amal carb. That would really float it.

I have one that I lovingly restored; new chrome, polished 'engine turned' flywheel, polished gearbox, all the rest, but it doesn't look mint. Even the decal that I lovingly drew up and half hand painted (the one that found its way up North) frizzled up after a few months. The black paint job was perfect - gleaming, not a run or a smear. But it didn't look mint, it just looked newly refurbished.

So yes, I'll go for a mint (genuinely unused) 'F' variant of the 'Little Model Forty' and I'd like it in its Burt & Vick packing case with the refund documents, guarantee, User Manual (the best of all the manuals for sheer readability) and the parts book. In fact I'll even pay for delivery or pick it up myself(!)

[electrosys]

I'm not sure this poll is asking the right question, to answer the "which Seagull you like best" query requires the answerer to have experience of the motor or at least to have seen one used.

Perhaps the question should have read, which Seagull in perfect condition would you most like to be given.

"Which Seagull do you like best" could of course refer to looks, regard for engineering excellence, innovation of the period, etc.,, not necessarily having first-hand experience of same.

For me, Marstons easily fall into that category - but I've never even seen one 'in the flesh' (so to speak), let alone used one. Having said that, to be honest I wouldn't want to be given one - just as I wouldn't want to be given a classic vintage car, or a first edition Shakespeare. Too much responsibility: and too many tears would be spilt if it were ever damaged, lost overboard, or stolen.

How about "Which Seagull do you find the most useful ?"

[charlesp]

The one I find most useful would be my Model 90. It happens to be a long shaft, which fits the transom bracket just fine. Its temporary replacement, the Kingfisher, is a standard shaft, but its not a problem as I have a different bracket mounting pad for shorter shaft motors. However, unlike many I actually prefer the 90, I couldn't really say why. Perhaps it's just a bit more 'Seagully'. The reverse is not really necessary a I'm moored bow-in facing the SoUth West, so getting off the pontoon with no motor is simply a matter of letting go the lines and wait for the breeze to waft me out. Once out I don't need reverse.

Over the course of this year I shall be playing with various 102cc Seagulls on my Westerly Pageant which at 23 feet isn't large but it's a heavy craft. The 90 will give me 3.5 knots in flat conditions, which is just fine as an auxiliary. I shall be interested to see what the Kingfisher will do, and even more so the SD and other 102s during the summer.

My previous craft was a thing called an R19, a light cruiser racer in a one-design class. She was a handy 665 kilos, driven quite satisfactorily by a 40 Plus.

The thing that would make the Model 90 even better would be a water drain cock in the float cahmber. It's an odd thing, but with no discernible leakage from the fuel cock together with a good tight air vent I always seem to have water in the float chamber. With the plastic screw-on float chamber of that particular Amal it's the work of seconds to empty it of whatever fluid it contains, but I become consumed with guilt over the impressive rainbows emanating from my stern. Whenever I do it it's inevitably in public.

[Charles uk]

The only point of entry for water into the float chamber, is the tickler, rain & spray can get down the sides of it.

Why not try the rubber cover off an old throttle cable over it, the bit that fits over the cable length adjuster screw & a smear of light grease around it's sides.