Saving Old Seagulls

Extremely Rare

1959 british Anzani Racing Outboard

This extremely rare alcohol (methonol) burning engine is in excelent condition (see photo).


http://cgi.ebay.com.au/1959-British-Anz ... dZViewItem

Hugo (looking at a Seagull with a new vision!)

Hugh not as rare as you would think I know 3 Seagull collectors with 1 of those on their motor rack. Including me.

The petrol version seems to be more desireable at least you can start it without a degree in chemistry.

Mine has a Konig leg & lower unit, CP's & JC's both have the Anzani ones.

I don't think the current owner will be testing in his wheely bin with those megaphones attached, these have no water pumps or clutches so were only tested on the back of the race boat, cooling water would start to flow at 15 plus mph.

As there is hardly any flywheel these were usually a Bast**d to start,
2 people would lift the stern of the boat so the prop was above water level while another pulled the rope, if it started running the boat was dropped & off she went!
Perfect for fishing!

For a late 50's early 60's motor these were state of the art inside ask the guys at Mercury, these were only allowed to race in the US if they ran on alchol, on pump gas nothing could touch them until Dieter Konig came on song.

A class B racing Anzani was the first motor to break the 100 Mph barrier, though it was running 4 carbs!

Strewth....who would have thought they are that plentiful.

Now would a seagull run on alcohol.... I see no reason why not tho a synthetic oil would be needed as petroleum based oil wouldn't mix with it. Carburettor would need rejetting. I would be surprised if during WW11 Seagull didn't look into it during rationing. Only considering it for purely hippy reasons.

Back to my current project..... building a kettle attached to a seagull heated via a copper coil around the exhaust enabling me to have a nice cup of charley at sea.

Future project... build a small paddlewheeler with a pair of clutched gulls one either side of vessel with a pulley system driving water wheels.

Hugo

Don'y know about alcohol, but Seagulls were regularly run on paraffin (kerosene to the some colonials) and later on, in the oil crisis, some were experimentally modified to have paraffin as their primary fuel.

The other Charles reckons you can get them fired up on WD 40.

Methonol, Nitro methane & Castrol R, that should do it.

The compression ratio is low enough, might be too low, much bigger jets in the carb as they use circa 2.5 times as much.

No rubber in the fuel system as this mix eats it.

If somebody supplies the fuel I will supply a motor with big jets, it would be nice to give it a try.

I never said that Charles!
I have read all the details of the Kerosene runners in one of the workshop manuels, I think they had 2 float chambers, so they could be started & stopped on Petrol.
If I remember right this was designed for the Indian costal fisherman market.

As there is hardly any flywheel these were usually a Bast**d to start,
2 people would lift the stern of the boat so the prop was above water level while another pulled the rope, if it started running the boat was dropped & off she went!
Perfect for fishing!

When this was built it was the state of the art racing engine & was fitted on the back of a hydro or a utility, which was about 10 foot long & weighed around 100 lbs.
Mine was hung on the back of an S bottomed Ben Hur Hydroplane & was propped accordingly with a 6.5" x 12 Steel prop on a 1:1 lower unit & should have run somewhere around 60 mph with a light jockey.

Most of the hydros had insufficient bouyancy at the stern to permit the captain to try & start the motor whilst afloat.

Well, I'm certainly glad to be one of the "colonials" who doesn't consider paraffin to be kerosene! Nope! Not me! I'm one of the sharp ones who knows that it's actually a type of wax. Etymology? I thought you'd never ask!! The name is derived from the Latin parum (= "barely") and affinis ("...suitable for use as fuel in an outboard").
Boy, good thing I'm here to represent. I hope I've stopped someone from pulling up at a gas station and asking the attendant to fill up a jug with 5 gallons of wax. The ensuing hilarity would be entirely tongue-in-cheek, a distraction while a co-worker goes inside for a big old monkey wrench to straighten you out.
Also, "heating up a charley" is an unfortunate phrase from the Vietnam war and is not an advisable maritime activity! Particularly in this day and age, where such things are frowned upon in civilized nations, such as Transniestria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabkh and Mud Butte, South Dakota.
I understand that microwaving is perfectly acceptable...not to mention quicker.
Thank you.

A black woolen cap, mug of charley and a briar pipe whilst chugging along epitomises what Seagulls are all about me thinks!