Saving Old Seagulls

Pre war it appears that there was a device called a trolling disc.
This looks like it kills the thrust from the prop, which lets you keep the revs up.

A simple ali disc should do the trick.

H-A

Thanks Todd - this looks like the solution that I need!

I see that you're in the states. I know very little about smallmouth bass. If they share similar characteristics to the bass in the UK then I would have thought that the noise from the Seagull would scare every bass for miles around - unlike our Atlantic mackerel that are impossible to NOT catch! Maybe I'll try trolling for bass with a long line.

Frankenstein - I've had reasonable success in Poole harbour (the legal bits) trolling for bass using a forty plus. In fact I reckon the noise output of that motor was considerably less than the Mercury 3.3 that came with the boat.

Now I have no success at all - I have changed boat, and tend to use the diesel. This year I'll be Seaqgulling again with my Model 110, and if that doesn't work I'll be trying the Kingfisher which is quieter. I think the thumping of the diesel scares the fish more than the 2 strokes.

Yes, get a 40+! Mine pumps water at low revs while trolling for mackerel and success is important. Putting fish on our plates increases the likelihood that I can go out on the water again next time

Seagulls run best on between 10 and 15 to 1 and using thirty grade two stroke oil. They need lots of oil to seal the crankcase. Watch out for some of the modern two stroke oils as the are made for roller bearings and can have a detrimental effect on the brass bushes a seagull crankshaft runs in. This will be a lot more noticable at slow speeds.

The Tinker wrote:brass bushes a seagull crankshaft runs in..

I have only seen bronze bushes in Seagulls.

H-A

Sorry my Bad.
Also I have found making an anti cavitation plate allows you to run the engine a little higher. It will run a little better as less back pressure.

The Tinker wrote:Seagulls run best on between 10 and 15 to 1 and using thirty grade two stroke oil. They need lots of oil to seal the crankcase. Watch out for some of the modern two stroke oils as the are made for roller bearings and can have a detrimental effect on the brass bushes a seagull crankshaft runs in. This will be a lot more noticable at slow speeds.

I'm confused

If I run my featherweight (Bing carb), with Quicksilver 2 stroke at 25:1 mix, at very low revs for long periods as I'd intended - will I risk serious damage?

Frankenstein wrote:

The Tinker wrote:Seagulls run best on between 10 and 15 to 1 and using thirty grade two stroke oil. They need lots of oil to seal the crankcase. Watch out for some of the modern two stroke oils as the are made for roller bearings and can have a detrimental effect on the brass bushes a seagull crankshaft runs in. This will be a lot more noticable at slow speeds.

I'm confused

If I run my featherweight (Bing carb), with Quicksilver 2 stroke at 25:1 mix, at very low revs for long periods as I'd intended - will I risk serious damage?

No, no, no. Thousands of people have been doing exactly what you're doing for years. Tinker may have found a combination which works well for his particular engine' s wear patterns. But a little research will show that modern two stroke oils certainly aren't formulated specifically for roller bearings. They have to lubricate cylinder walls,too, after all.

Operate your Featherweight as you described with full confidence.

Todd

The designers of the Seagull must not know what they are doing. They recommend an oil mix at 10 to 1 using 30 grade. I can find no recommendations for any other fuel mixture in the manual. So good luck with the 25 to 1 mix

Hi Team, greetings from New Zealand. I've owned several seagulls, the 40+'s were easily my favorite. The trolling thing. I used to increase revs slightly every few minutes to change the water in the head, then I just got a small plastic bucket and hung it over the stern on a short piece of line. The bucket acts as a sea anchor enabling you to use a slightly higher throttle setting (smoother running, cooling working) and still have a nice slow trolling speed. When you stop the bucket sinks, reel in fish or what ever, then continue. The secret is the length of the rope, the shorter the better. Some development will be needed according to the boat, but the concept works well. I ended up with a canvas boy scout bucket on a very short yoke fixed to the stern cleats. A fishing sinker in the bucket will sink it promptly when you stop. A bit of a pain it's true, but I put up with it to give the motor an easier time.

Cheers. Mike.

25:1 is a recommended Seagull mix, Models made later in the run started life jetted for it and conversion kits (new jets) were (and still are) available for earlier models. Those made for 25:1 had blue tanks instead of the usual black.

The Bing carburettor requires no conversion.