Saving Old Seagulls

hansomcommon wrote:There are specialist aluminium prop welders (I had the skeg rewelded on my Brittania) but the cost will far outweigh the value of the engine, Ebay is the answer.

Searching on ebay.....found another engine as well.... my wife will be pleased if i win that one to add to collection.
Tried again today to remove prop without any luck...will carry on. So far rest of engine is coming apart nicely.

What kind of torch do you use? How much time do you heat the prop around the shaft?

I would expect the prop being stuck also to the other engine, especially since it is abandoned. Any idea of the material that made the shear pins? I have seen some brass, that would make it worse.


What would say more experienced members than me about the color of the piston? Any chances that the combustion was getting over the rings to the crankcase?

Stelios_Rjk wrote:What kind of torch do you use? How much time do you heat the prop around the shaft?

I would expect the prop being stuck also to the other engine, especially since it is abandoned. Any idea of the material that made the shear pins? I have seen some brass, that would make it worse.


What would say more experienced members than me about the color of the piston? Any chances that the combustion was getting over the rings to the crankcase?

I have used a heat gun and also tried boiling water so far, will try blow torch next. Valid point about other engine, you just dont know how well it will come apart, might just get prop on its own.

Managed to remove prop today....


It looked like it had car engine oil in gear box, it poured out quite thickly when it was hot, i collected in a plastic tub and now it has cooled down it has gone like tar.

I think i will need to heat it up again to remove all the old sludge.

Well done!! How did you manage to take off the prop? Sad it came out in pieces but from the first bit that brake it was almost sure that it wouldn't be reusable.

Stelios_Rjk wrote:Well done!! How did you manage to take off the prop? Sad it came out in pieces but from the first bit that brake it was almost sure that it wouldn't be reusable.

I managed it with a heat gun in the end, took about 90 minutes but slowly started to shift, the gearbox cover screws also needed a lot of heat to undo. Transom mount is seized so that is next on list.

Take your prop & all the bits to a welder that tig welds.

Charles uk wrote:Take your prop & all the bits to a welder that tig welds.

Would the balance be ok on prop if it was welded? There is a prop on ebay for £20, I dont know what tig welding would cost.

If I were you I would have bought the prop from ebay. I have gone to a welder for two pieces of aluminum that had broken, I paid 25british pounds or a little more. So it would sound normal to me if the welder ask for 20-25british pounds. You could ask him to see what you can get but you also have to consider whether the result would be nice or not. In addition what if the prop on ebay will be sold in the the next couple of days? I don't think such props come up everyday.

Stelios_Rjk wrote:If I were you I would have bought the prop from ebay. I have gone to a welder for two pieces of aluminum that had broken, I paid 25british pounds or a little more. So it would sound normal to me if the welder ask for 20-25british pounds. You could ask him to see what you can get but you also have to consider whether the result would be nice or not. In addition what if the prop on ebay will be sold in the the next couple of days? I don't think such props come up everyday.

I have emailed seller to confirm it is the correct one and if so i will buy it.

It must be right, its for a "FOR VERY OLD SEA BEE".

Does anyone know if the carb is the same on the seabee minor and model 3 please?

looks the same.

Keith.P wrote:looks the same.

That would be a result if it is, just bought a model 3 off ebay and its supposed to be in good condition, sparking and complete apart from carb. Will borrow carb off the minor to get up and running. Will be collecting this week.

Picked up the model 3 last night..
The minor carb is too small to fit on model 3 which is a shame. The prop is bigger but fits on minor, is this ok? Anyone know where i can locate a model 3 carb assembly, fuel line and a throttle cable? None on ebay, seems a shame not to be able to get model 3 going again.