Saving Old Seagulls

After a winter of working on both the boat and a Featherweight (on behalf of my son, a free boat and an Ebay "non-working" Seagull) we popped it into the water today.



The boat leaks so a bit more sealant is required somewhere. However the real issue is the smooth running of the engine. Its a pig to start. Once its going it seems to have a nice turn of speed but it will only run with the choke ring in, the moment you release the choke it stops. It also doesnt run well at lower revs or idle. What should I be looking at to make it a bit more user friendly?

Martin

Remove carburettor. Dismantle.Clean. Replace. Try again.
If you want help, a description of which engine would be more helpful than watching you sink.
It could be a Villers carb, a Bing carb.

also make sure the fuel is fresh but mainly what rosbullterier said would be the problem

Sorry, its a Villiers carb on a Forty Featherweight.

Looks like a clean up of the carb is needed.

Martin

Pictures! They're wonderful! And that little boat has as much character as the motor driving it. ( and probably, by association, likewise of the operator piloting it!) Do I see one of Johns S.O.S. stickers on the upper port side if the transom? Perfect.

I'm going to try to start a picture thread here on General Topics, and would like to see photos of the rigs you guys have. And not just the pretty ones!

dear oh dear ...

Todd just hasn't the faintest idea of what he may just have unleashed....

My dear boy
once unplugged there is no getting the genie back in the bottle
this site is populated with the most unfortunate collection of misfits wierdos and malcontents one is ere likely to encounter ..

trouble is that they're REAL, not hiding behind some made up on-line persona, they're the Ridgy Didge article
....a short winter trip to Lerryn will confirm all your worst fears http://www.lerryn.net/gallery?os=30...
and of course these are only the mildly afflicted, edited & pictured for public consumption

then we have the Thames Gathering and they're VERY strange ....
& there is an East Coast 'Mud Splashers' event on offer for those possessing less than the required no of chromosomes...
and most can prove it !!...just listen for the high pitched whine of an Australian twang

But all will come together at Falmouth week ...
Yup, it's a combination of all who fell out the Ugly Tree, ...and hit every branch on the way down
and those who after many many years of sniffing 'Gull fumes, have eyes that rotate like chameleons ...and mostly both, ...with the tongue to match!!

I understand a seagull powered wardrobe with integral bidet and extractor fan has been entered

Now Todd ...
y'know the care your Granddad stressed when dealing with sweating gelignite ???
Well, that would be a happier choice than egging on this lot !!

Dear God - somebody's recharged the battery in Timberperson's nuclear pen -

but still no pics - of the mighty catamaran !!!!!!!!

I ain't scared, T-man. I've got a wide expanse of Atlantic protecting me from any association with your type. Bring 'em on.

Todd pictures are OK but what we need is Video



As for improving the engine running, mine runs OK, look at the fantastic speed and not a Cornish cat in sight

H-A

Ahhh...
The sweet taste of near immortality ...
& having to thottle back so severely ....so H-A could get the appropriate footage
It did get a bit lumpy out there beyond the harbour

I'll have to inform my under-trainee-apprentice-seadog of his fame ..
properly amidships y'see...as a midshipman would be
He'll be all made up

luddite I know RBT ..but just can't seem to get the hang of posting piccies
as to videos ...a whole different matter, being even worse cos they move

As to poor Brother Todd
the wide expanses of the Atlantic present no barrier to 'Gull infection
If you buy, hire, or acquire a Seagull ...the dreaded fate awaits you
I mean even being here on this forum speaks volumes

Here, let me check for leaks with this lighter......

My 40+ whose shaft is longer than some:








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Todd wrote:I ain't scared, T-man. I've got a wide expanse of Atlantic protecting me from any association with your type. Bring 'em on.

Uh, not entirely true. I've been artificially lubricating our side of the pond for some years now. It's got to be some form of brain-damage but it's fun. And the looks one gets at the boat ramps by people with their oil-injected, turbocharged 2,400hp flamethrowers of the back of a bass boat are simply priceless.

One guy about jumped back from the dock when I fired one up one day, as if he was waiting for the Seagull to explode. After all, the smoke! The noise!! Run!!!

When your pen name is an anagram of that well beloved Japanese smooth running efficient model of modern engineering - Toyota - then you might paint a easy to see timing mark on the flywheel to see whether its stopped.

Or is that if you're deaf?