Newly installed, 52 year old kicker, rated 3HP

[rclark4179]

As stern heavy as these boats are, I have opted to get a 28 lb British Seagull running and carry it as a backup motor. The "gull" was free from my old boss who had bought it new in 1965.It starts on the second pull almost without fail and is just about as simple as a motor can be. It is rated by the manufacturer up to an 800 lb displacement hull so I assume it should get my Sea Hunter home in case of a main motor failure.

I am curious if any one else is currently carrying one and if so, how it works as a backup or troll motor.

I am planning on tossing it in Lake Sammamish next week and will report the outcome then.

[GregE]

REliable for 53 years.....  it ought to get you where you need to go.

sure won't overload that mount 

[milos dad]

My father had a Seagull model 40+ with clutch, on his heavy planked 27' boat.  You are right they have a lot of thrust; pushed barges in England.  They use a 10:1 oil mix, so lots of smoke.

M D

[Tom Mac]

There is one in our maritime museum  down the road from me in Cowichan Bay! Cool old motors

[jetdoctor]

I have had the same thought :applause:.  I have a 5 HP Honda long shaft that weighs around 70#.  That and the HD mount so that I can keep the kicker on when trailering is a lot of weight on the back of a 17 foot SR.  If I am just going out with some friends in the sound, we leave the kicker behind.  Having a small 2 stroke for emergencies makes sense, and would make the boat handle better.  My boats 90 HP Honda will idle all day, so having a trolling motor for salmon is not as much of a necessity as it once was.  I have checked out some boats with 9.9 electric start outboards with controls, and hydraulic lift and tilt.  Kinda makes one wonder if these boats have a big list to the left...... :whistle:  If you give a Seagull some love every year, they will outlast you.
Cheers,
Doug 

[Markshoreline]

Seagulls have the archaic engineering that I love- very pure and simple.  Although they are not known for reliability, some of them seem to run forever. 

[Diablo]

  I have checked out some boats with 9.9 electric start outboards with controls, and hydraulic lift and tilt.  Kinda makes one wonder if these boats have a big list to the left...... :whistle:
Doug

Not such a big list but there is a list. I moved my batterys forward under the helm seat and that fix the list.

RC
If that little seagull will do the job great low cost workaround.

[Peddler]

Cool to put that old motor to use. I'm not sure I'd ever feel comfortable relying it tho.

Another option is one of the older air cooled motors that were popular in the 80's; Tanaka, and the Sears Gamefisher versions come to mind. Noisy tho.


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[rclark4179]

My father had a Seagull model 40+ with clutch, on his heavy planked 27' boat.  You are right they have a lot of thrust; pushed barges in England.  They use a 10:1 oil mix, so lots of smoke.

M D

This one is a 40+,no clutch.Loud and smokey for sure. I started it in a 33 gallon Brute filled to just short of the top and it blew most of the water out in about 2 seconds, so, lots of thrust. I have "Macgyvered" a tiller extension for it as it will be out of reach when the kicker bracket is lowered enough to submerge the pickup tube.
I hope to test it on the lake next week and will,hopefully, post pics and performance.

[milos dad]

My father had a Seagull model 40+ with clutch, on his heavy planked 27' boat.  You are right they have a lot of thrust; pushed barges in England.  They use a 10:1 oil mix, so lots of smoke.

M D

This one is a 40+,no clutch.Loud and smokey for sure. I started it in a 33 gallon Brute filled to just short of the top and it blew most of the water out in about 2 seconds, so, lots of thrust. I have "Macgyvered" a tiller extension for it as it will be out of reach when the kicker bracket is lowered enough to submerge the pickup tube.
I hope to test it on the lake next week and will,hopefully, post pics and performance.

The large prop throws lots of water, perhaps what they call high thrust models today

[Habberdasher]

I have a 1958 Johnston 3hp as a get home motor and on my way back to Sooke my main crapped out and I was sure happy to have it. I was making slow headway when my son showed up and towed me in.it made me very aware of the importance of back up so today I cleaned the plugs and it's running like a clock but a little hot so I will replace the impeller before going out again. My boat has a list to starboard due to my 240 pounds and I am thinking of putting the batteries on the port side which along with the light kicker and lighter guests should even things up. I have read that many of you put the batteries in the cuddly but I don't think I should as the grandsons nap up there.
Tight lines Tom

[ATGEP]

I cut my teeth on a seagull and ran ours for a couple of thousand hours. The only reliability issue I ever had was plug fouling but I attribute that to my old man being too cheap to use 2 stroke oil and mixed regular 30wt. LOL They are great engines and have the  thrust to get you home for sure.  They also idle down really low and could provide an interesting low speed trolling option.  They are noisy, smoky, and awesome.  British standard for all of the hardware so have vice grips handy or buy a cheap socket set.

[BK1983]

I have had the same thought :applause:.  I have a 5 HP Honda long shaft that weighs around 70#.  That and the HD mount so that I can keep the kicker on when trailering is a lot of weight on the back of a 17 foot SR.  If I am just going out with some friends in the sound, we leave the kicker behind.  Having a small 2 stroke for emergencies makes sense, and would make the boat handle better.  My boats 90 HP Honda will idle all day, so having a trolling motor for salmon is not as much of a necessity as it once was.  I have checked out some boats with 9.9 electric start outboards with controls, and hydraulic lift and tilt.  Kinda makes one wonder if these boats have a big list to the left...... :whistle:  If you give a Seagull some love every year, they will outlast you.
Cheers,
Doug

I Have a honda 9.9 as a kicker on my 19sr ht. I moved both batteries to the opposite sponson  and it fixed the list. I don't have trim tabs.

[milos dad]

I cut my teeth on a seagull and ran ours for a couple of thousand hours. The only reliability issue I ever had was plug fouling but I attribute that to my old man being too cheap to use 2 stroke oil and mixed regular 30wt. LOL They are great engines and have the  thrust to get you home for sure.  They also idle down really low and could provide an interesting low speed trolling option.  They are noisy, smoky, and awesome.  British standard for all of the hardware so have vice grips handy or buy a cheap socket set.

I would add a hammer to your toolkit.  Having 2 English cars in my youth made me aware of the essentials 

[ATGEP]

I forget to add, remember to cover the carb when not in use.  If you don't, I'm afraid you will find the engine full of water after a rough day.

[Yachter Yat]

  A British motor at 3 HP and 28 lbs...........how about that?   Do you suppose if someone offered Honda $10,000,000 dollars (and a dare) they could come-up with a 5 HP kicker motor that weighed 30 lbs.?  Okay...........how about $20,000,000.  :whistle:   

Yat

[Threeweight]

Honda makes a 4 stroke, 2.3 that weighs 30 pounds.

https://marine.honda.com/outboards/motor-detail/BF2.3

Suzuki makes a 4 stroke 2.5 that weighs 29.

http://www.suzukimarine.com/Product%20Lines/Outboard%20Motors/Products/DF2_5/2012/DF2_5.aspx

Suzuki 6 hp weighs 55 pounds, Honda's weigh's 60.

I used a Honda "Classic 8", or BF8a, on my Sea Chaser 17 (75 pounds).  With a hi-thrust prop it made an awesome kicker, after a few tweaks. 

Seagulls are cool old motors, but I wouldn't trust one as a "get home" in an emergency.  They went out of business in the first place as Merc and Johnson/Evinrude made much more reliable engines.

[Yachter Yat]

   If there's one thing missing in the marine outboard industry (especially for you guys in the Northwest),  it's got to be what I call a "dedicated kicker".  You know........no frills, just a big power head with a tube going down to a kickass pusher prop........................Let it sink in!  :whistle:

Yat

[Threeweight]

Kickers are tools to do a lot of things.  I used my Honda 9.9 hi thrust in reverse Saturday to back the boat up into the wind so my crew could get a 32 oz cannonball sinker they had stuck to a rock in 300' of water unstuck.  Hi-thrust prop + 9.9 hp made it possible to back my wide offshore bracket transom into the following sea, with good steerage from my rear helm station.

I typically use it for precise trolling speeds for salmon, where the difference between 2.2 and 2.5 mph is getting bit or not.

It is also there for an emergency get home motor.  I agree a really basic, air cooled kicker has it's place, but those do exist already.  Here in NW we need both something that can push the boat home and something that gives hi-thrust, precise trolling speeds and steering, and runs clean and quiet.  That's why the heavier 2 cylinder 8 and 9.9 hi-thrust motors are so popular here, despite the added weight.

[rclark4179]

I took the boat out today to test out a main repair and to see how the Seagull would do as a backup motor.
In order to operate it properly, I had to fully extend the kicker bracket which made it a little awkward to wind and pull start. It took three pulls but once running it pushed my Hunter at 4 mph at about 3/4 throttle according to the GPS on my phone. A noisy, smokey, but steady 4 is acceptable to me for a free backup motor. It also seems to be a bit of a conversation starter. One guy when I launched and a couple when I was tieing down stopped to ask about it.

[milos dad]

I took the boat out today to test out a main repair and to see how the Seagull would do as a backup motor.
In order to operate it properly, I had to fully extend the kicker bracket which made it a little awkward to wind and pull start. It took three pulls but once running it pushed my Hunter at 4 mph at about 3/4 throttle according to the GPS on my phone. A noisy, smokey, but steady 4 is acceptable to me for a free backup motor. It also seems to be a bit of a conversation starter. One guy when I launched and a couple when I was tieing down stopped to ask about it.

You may eventually sell it as a 'collector's item' aka antique and buy a 4 stroke with the proceeds?