New Delivery expected soon

[Niander101]

Came across a seagull with the exhaust on upside down with the holes at the bottom
he wondered why it didn't run very well...
That will be one loud seagull!

[bychance]

The Featherweight is almost ready to start. The carby needed a good clean and I stole the inlet compensator, throttle cable and tiller arm off the free Century. The tiller arm tube was a bit wobbly at the base where it meets the mounting plate. How do you tighten them up? I noticed a groove in the back and tried punching it down a bit, no tighter yet.
I'm thinking about leaving the tank nude like my WS. I know its not authentic and will be berated and chastised for my evil thought
Has anyone living in a hot climate (well it's hot sometimes in Summer here) touched something black that has been baking in the midday sun agree that it may be a bit cooler if I leave out the painting of the tank?

Before

After

[Niander101]

Yes i like tanks not badly dented

[Hugz]

Has anyone living in a hot climate (well it's hot sometimes in Summer here) touched something black that has been baking in the midday sun agree that it may be a bit cooler if I leave out the painting of the tank?

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Must admit I generally only use one gull which has a brass tank, but you are right they would get very hot! Will be interesting to see how hot the Curlew will become with the black plastic tank.

[charlesp]

I have an SD which sports a shiny brass tank when I take it out. The shine doesn't last in the salt air, but if you manage to see it on a sunny day (if we ever get another one of those without being lashed by the wind) it does shine well.

Hadn't thought about the heat issue; here in Poole I'm pretty sure it'll never come to anything.

[bychance]

The 40 Featherweight comes alive!

It started on the very first pull of the rope! It is running a bit rough if I try to open the throttle wide, I still have to block those extra holes up in the exhaust, but it's pumping water well

Click on this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gW6Mkcmisg

[bychance]

More wheelie bin testing today. The motor idles well, picks up well, doesn't miss but won't run fast. Tried using 25:1 and adjusted the carby by screwing down the needle screw 2.5 turns. I tried going up and down from that spot, but could never get high revs out of it. I dont have a tacho yet but I'm guessing it's around 2,000 revs flat out.
I then went back to the needle screw flush with the top of the slider and used some fresh 10:1. Varied up and down, it liked up a half turn most, but still not much difference, maybe 2,500 revs....
Could be starving for fuel?

I did clean and gap the points early in the resto; I'll revisit that area to see if things have changed.

I initially thought that this motor had a hard life, it may have been neglected, but to me it doesn't seem to have had much use at all. Underneath all the grime I found a tank with few dents, the prop, skeg and mounting brackets almost unmarked and the points area very clean and bright.

[Oyster 49]

Have you got the right prop fitted? I had a similar problem with a FPC with a 40 plus prop fitted, that would not rev. It's very easy to overlook.

[bychance]

The testing so far has only been in the bin without a prop. It should rev out to about 4000 RPM I think (not that I'd leave it there for any length of time).

I would expect when fitted on my boat it wouldn't reach maximum revs once hull speed was achieved.

[Oyster 49]

What about the timing, is that correct? If retarded then the engine would be reluctant to rev. It does sound like fuel though..

[bychance]

I finally got around to ordering and fitting a 25:1 needle. Even with old fuel, the motor now revs out quite well; in a tank without the prop on anyway...

I've still to block some of the exhaust holes up, I'll probably only leave the top one open as it is still approx 1/4" diameter.

Time for a test on the back of the boat.

[Horsley-Anarak]

[quote="bychanceOr block the lower 2 or 3 at least with jubilee clips or nuts, bolts, washers (tricky)[/quote]

I would try pop rivets, until you can find a replacement tube.

H-A

[skyetoyman]

Could it be the holes in the exhaust that are part of the problem ? Back pressure is taken into account when designing two stroke engines.
Your large holes will reduce the back pressure.

[Charles uk]

There is quite an argument amongst the racing fraternity on this subject, some favor big holes & some none at all, & both seem to have done a lot of testing, perhaps it doesn't make any difference.

[bychance]

While it was runnning I blocked the lower 3 holes with my fingers (thick leather gloves on) and the only difference we noticed was the reduction in noise; revs didn't change or the change was so minimal we didn't notice. It seems to be performing well or as expected.