Newbee

[sammy]

Hi guys newbee here just like to introduce my self my name is keith 1st time boat owner and i would like to ask a couple of questions please
1st question just brought a 5hp seagull to go with a 14"mayland boat and this will be my only outboard would this be ok to use i know it may sound a daft question but being a 1st timer to own one and i know i am not wanting to break water speed records i just want to get things right main use is for fishing
2nd question the seagull i have just getting has a long range tank on and i have been looking if a bigger or modify tank could be used
thanks

[Collector Inspector]

Welcome aboard Keith.

A bit more info as to what you have re Gull, you know numbers and stuff, and what ya want.

What you have model wise is somewhat important regarding any advice we can offer.

Please feel free to search the site with whatever keywords you have................lots of info but maybe some links to pics may not work.

Enjoy SOS aye.

BnC

[seagull101]

Welcome to the forum!
You could fit a steel long range tank.


Cheers, Jacob

[fleetingcontact]

Hi Sammy

If I understand your original message, you already have a long range tank fitted, but you want bigger. It's difficult to know without a pic, but I expect that any other type of tank supplied by Seagull is either the same or not much bigger. So you may consider going the non-standard route...

Two possible solutions are a) make a new tank - not easy, and anything significantly bigger would, I expect, make the whole thing unstable, so perhaps not the best way to solve the issue - or b) fit a remote tank, which is a trick sometimes done by the racer chaps.

If you like this idea, you will first need to adapt a standard fuel cap to accept a bayonet fitting as found in most chandlers.

A picture saves many words, so here's a pic shamelessly nicked from elsewhere on this website:

You may have a tank which uses a black pastic fuel cap, in which case you may not recognise the filler cap in the pic, which is an earlier metal type. This type of cap would be more suitable for drilling and tapping as the pic shows, but I've seen this done similarly with the plastic type too. If you don't have the metal type and you want one, either contact John@sos who I expect has several, or keep your eye on Ebay where one will surface before too long.

Then all you have to do is trot down to the chandlers, buy a frickin' big remote tank and fuel line with bulb , and you're done.

Hope this helps - Martin.

[headdownarseup]

Just to help put things into perspective here, the typical long range steel tank (as pictured) will generally give you about 2 hours plus of continuous motoring at 1/2 to 3/4 throttle. I have a fairly typical late model silver century plus with one of these tanks fitted and for fishing on reservoirs this is more than enough to keep me going pretty much all day on 1 tank full. A short motor out to a "hot spot" and drop anchor, then fish for a few hours. Up anchor and motor to the next spot, etc. etc. 1 tank full lasts me all day like this.
On the Thames with a constant throttle setting, usually 2 to 2.5 hours is about the range from one of these tanks on my 17 foot Scorpio.

If you're wanting more range than that, then perhaps an auxiliary tank of some kind might get what you're looking for.


Welcome to the "club"


Jon

[pat777]

@fleeting contact That's a great mod with the remote fuel tank filler cap.

For those of us not racing I don't get the whole need for a bigger tank thing, what's wrong with just throwing a petrol can in the boat and filling up the gull as required?

There was someone on here with an Australian Olympic seagull, that had modified an empty fire extinguisher for a fuel tank, unfortunately a search doesn't show up the pictures since the whole "photobucket" saga.

If you type fire extinguisher petrol tank in to google you'll see some pictures of motorbikes with "fire extinguisher petrol tanks", give you some idea. The Olympic seagull did look really good with the fire extinguisher petrol tank and certainly a lot more robust than the standard BS tanks!

[pat777]

a 5hp seagull to go with a 14"mayland boat and this will be my only outboard would this be ok to use i know it may sound a daft question but being a 1st timer to own one and i know i am not wanting to break water speed records i just want to get things right main use is for fishing

The seagull outboard will push you along no bother, not sure where you are planning on using the boat, obviously if you are new to the whole boating thing, it would be no harm practicing on the canals or some other still water.

If you're planning on heading out to sea, you would want a bit of knowledge under your belt in my opinion and ideally a second back up outboard.

Here's a clip of a mayland under seagull power, give you some idea of the seagulls capabilities.

[fleetingcontact]

Hey Pat, yeah its cool if you sort it out. Not my idea obviously. I like the fire extinguisher idea, that could go somewhere! I once daydreamed of a really big tank mounted as standard made from a Century or 102 tube, it appears to be the same guage as a 102 tank (at a glance, never measured it).

The prob that may become an issue with the 'just fill it up again ' approach might be in a rolling sea with a hot engine that of course may be running at the time...good luck with that one.

Others have done mad stuff involving a 'Killaspray' garden insecticide arrangement from B&Q or the like, imagine the potential consequences of a fuel leak with a pressurised system...

Martin

[pat777]

The prob that may become an issue with the 'just fill it up again ' approach might be in a rolling sea with a hot engine that of course may be running at the time...good luck with that one.

Seagull Outboard........rolling sea..........surely not!

I'll probably get in trouble for saying this, but I think if you are going out with a seagull outboard in rolling seas, then you're the kind of person who likes living on the edge and topping up the fuel tank with a petrol can in such conditions is all part of the adrenaline filled fun of it all.

I found a picture of the "Olympic" seagull on the main SOS site gallery. http://www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk/ga ... allery.htm
Not sure if it was originally fitted with an adapted fire extinguisher tank or if it was an after market addition.

[fleetingcontact]

Yup, so in trouble now.

You may not set out in it...also I guess it depends how big yer boat is. If its like mine then putting all your lardy-arsed weight to the stern presents issues of its own..as for the 'edge' issue its only good when it gets a bit more serious...I need help...

What sort of thickness is your average fire extinguisher made from? How about a gas bottle? You could get serious with a welding torch there...