Saving Old Seagulls

Ive just bought a Seagull No GFP 2219A7 I was told its a 40plus 2.5hp. Was also told it runs well and pumps water well. Today I went out in the estuary with it on my 9ft Dinghy, 1st it was a real struggle getting any speed up would this be normal on a boat of this size ? Also its not pumping water at least none is coming out but a little trickle at the begining on full revs. Does this mean new impellor or water pump or something else ?? Cheers in advance

Have you got it set at the right depth? The exhaust should be 1-2 inches below water level - if you have it higher than that, then there may not be enough water available to circulate. You really shouldn't run your engine for more than a couple of minutes without proper water circulation as it will cause overheating with potentially permanent damage.
Good luck.

You could do worse than take a read through the FAQ on common problems on the main SOS site...

http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/faq/faq.htm

John at SOS has created this section over many years experience to help answer most of the common problems.... Suggest you check out the cooling and also the drive spring sections ....

You offer no estimate of speed..... Seagulls are intended for displacement hulls. The max speed, in knots, of a 9 foot displacement hull is given to a good approximation as the square root of the waterline length in feet multiplied by a 1.5. So 4.5 knots would be a respectable speed; some would argue this to be on the high side but water skiing is not likely.....

If this is not a familiar subject/approximation have a look here.......http://www.solarnavigator.net/hull_speed.htm or Google "displacement hulls speed"

Hope this helps.


Peter

colgul wrote:Have you got it set at the right depth? The exhaust should be 1-2 inches below water level - if you have it higher than that, then there may not be enough water available to circulate. You really shouldn't run your engine for more than a couple of minutes without proper water circulation as it will cause overheating with potentially permanent damage.
Good luck.

I am new to seagull engines, I assume the exhaust is the hole/outlet just above the prop ? If so the engine was well in the water. I did notice it getting very hot so I guess I need to check the impellor is this in the bottom casing just above the prop?

Hi Coaster, when I first joined the forum I myself asked loads of questions!!
After takeing advice and looking at http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/faq/faq.htm, also looking at other other questions and answers in the help forum, I found loads of answers to my own questions. I am sure if you look you will find an answer somewhere
Good luck, John. Welcome to the forum!

If there's water pouring out of the little hole on the bottom of the engine block, and the nut that fastens the engine drive tube to the gearbox is under water most all the time (but not much more than that), you're 90% there on the way to reliable operation.

my 40+ pushes a 17' day sailor at about 3 - 4 knotts max, on mill pond smooth water. The difference between that engine and my 4-stroke, 2hp Honda BF-2D is that, whereas the Honda is more efficient per litre of fuel and can ride in the back of the car without being wrapped in newspapers first, the Seagull will maintain that speed into a stiff wind. The Honda will slow down noticeably but it does run nicely, have to admit.

The purpose of the Seagull, as research has probably shown by now, is to get you there and back in a reasonable amount of time, and reliably. Both my engines are long-shaft models, and so I have little to worry about with regard to the heads getting swamped by high seas or spray. It's a good comparison. One's a 9", 4-bladed tugboat prop and the other's a three-bladed plastic/composite prop. I use the Honda 8 times out of 10, but love running the Seagull especially if the forecast is for high seas and strong winds.

UPDATE
Took the seagull out again today with new impellor fitted plus new head, the other was badly coroded that the side case came apart. Anyway now runs really well and throws water out by the bucket full on high revs.
Thank you all for your advice and experience
Now a truly converted Seagull Fan!