Gentlemen are we our own worst enemy?

[charlesp]

Put me down for a couple, too, please.

Although the 'sleeves' option seems to work OK I would be happier with a correctly sized coil to start with.

I have 2 dead 'coolie hat' magnetos; one of them is so beaten up I will be astonished if it ever functions.

[markhld]

Can you put me down for a couple/few too please

[Charles uk]

Here's a perfect example to prove my point, last night I watched this Clarke sell on Ebay (170895627602) for just over £250.00. I was watching to see how stupid it went for, If I'd thought it would sell this cheap, I would have had a go.

There are very few outboards considered more desirable amongst outboard collectors, so this is only worth 1/2 a Marston, look what the vendor of the other one listed want's for a buymenow price.

This looks like a complete motor with no missing parts, so a light polish & cleanup, set the points, some fuel & a battery & you've got one of the hardest outboards to find & it's probably a runner, to my knowledge there are way less than 10 of these in captivity in the UK.

So a Marston that cost twice as much & might need £300 spent on it getting it to a displayable running condition, is a good buy, be serious.

[Niander101]

When was the last time anyone saw a Marston run on the water?

Cholsey, we had two going at once



H-A

You must have video of that?...

What Marstons were these two anyway i never saw them!...On Ebay?

[Charles uk]

OA & a very early ON.

You didn't see them on Ebay because I don't think either one of them have ever been moved on that way.

Selling privately has many advantages, the vendor doesn't lose 12.5% to a company who pays no tax in the UK,

the vendor & buyer arrive at a price they are both happy with,

& the buyer has the opportunity to learn all that is known about the motors history & condition.

You didn't see them on utube because the owners didn't want them on there, as they were running them for their own satisfaction & not the rest of the World's education.

[1650bullet]

This one here in Australia, Has a starting bid for $250.00 (Australian Dollars)You can see in the pictures the bottom tell-tale port in the block has broken away, Not the correct tank either.

[Charles uk]

That one has a stop button, you just press that bit of sheet metal against the spark plug!

[Niander101]

OA & a very early ON.


You didn't see them on utube because the owners didn't want them on there, as they were running them for their own satisfaction & not the rest of the World's education.

Think that's quite a selfish attitude to have and not education for me...more just wanting pleasurable viewing.

[Charles uk]

Perhaps they'll be moved after reading your comments.

[Niander101]

I doubt it

[fortyplus]

At the end of the day it's down to market forces. I would suggest most of us here, like me, enjoy a bargain and repairing and tinkering on a small budget. Although I have the money I don't like to just go out and buy anything at full price, to me that's part of the fun - the look at this and I only paid this much for it. It also allows me to justify owning a lot more items for all my hobbies than I could otherwise. However there are those who see things differently and will pay whatever it takes to get what they want, when they want it and this is not always related to how much money they actually have or can afford, but sometimes they are individuals to whom the odd few hundred (or even thousands) is neither here nor there. In my experience while you don't want to be competing with them when buying, they are often great to buy from, because they will also throw reckless amounts of money into a project that they then quickly tire of and then impulsively sell, often at a great price.

From years of buying and selling, it really is a case that something is only worth what someone will pay for it, to which I add "it isn't sold until you've had the money and spent it"

Long term it will be interesting to see how prices hold up or increase. Dare I say none of us with fond memories of Seagulls from our youth are getting any younger and I'm not sure that too many youngsters are going to feel the same way about them. While they could become museum pieces and ornaments for restaurants, ultimately there could be an awful lot of motors in sheds around the world that no one will really care about.

[Charles uk]

So your saying please die soon, or all the crap I've collected will be worth nothing, joking aside, your comments sadly echo my view!

[fortyplus]

It raises the question is there any logical reason to own a Seagull motor in 2012? While they certainly have practical uses, my ownership reasons stem more from my feelings and visual impressions as a teenager in the 70's, when Seagull motors were everywhere, than to any current reason I could fathom up or fabricate. I don't think that sort of magic can be conjured up in another generation.

It's the same reason I have a CJ5 Jeep and am left cold by the newer offerings, the CJ5 looks like the Jeep of my childhood fantasies and while I can appreciate some of the niceties and benefits of a 2012 4 door model, emotionally they do nothing for me. So while it is priceless to me, my step son just thinks it's a POS and can't understand why I wouldn't just buy a newer one, so obviously it's worth much less to him.

[charlesp]

The logical reason for me using my Model 90 on my Westerly Pageant is that it does the job of auxiliary engine very well at a fraction of the cost of a suitable now motor. It's a lot lighter than a modern equivalent. It has no ball or roller bearings to rust, no crankcase oil seals to fail. It starts well, runs well, has forward/neutral/reverse, and pushe the 3 1/4 ton boat along quite nicely when required.

Apart from that, although a few years newer than the boat it looks the part. Playing with it today I did decide that it may be time for a new coat of Hammerite on the gearbox/prop and some black on the recoil starter top.

You wouldn't get swimmers and other boaters giving you the thumbs up for hanging a Mariner/Tohatsu/Honda off you transom.

Best of all I can fix most things that could possibly go wrong.

[Charles uk]

For the same reason, I have a 1960 series 1 Lotus 7 in the garage, that I haven't started in over 12 years, but it's still mine!