Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[pigtin]

Er,.. I feel a degree of modification to various parts of the boat and maybe a more active boat-buddy, to say nothing of flat-calm weather. Then I may, just may, be tempted to go out after the mackerel when they show their scaly little faces.
At the moment the memory is just too fresh and traumatising.

[pigtin]

Just received this photo from my brother, who is giving me advice on boating. I must add that this is his is day boat, about 20ft long. He is moored at Faversham and just uses it to potter about the Medway estuary, where conditions can be treacherous, You can just see a picture of the estuary on the vid screen.

I think he was once told "The sea be a cruel master" and he's not taking any chances.
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t103/donthebat/instrumentcluster.jpg

[Rick]

by gum thats some setup, you might struggle fitting all that kit into your vessel!

Rick
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[pigtin]

Sorry chaps, having just made extensive (and expensive) mod's to the boat and can't wait to get out in it I am probably responsible for the crap weather we are having. Earlier in the year I fitted up an extensive system of rainwater storage and as a result it didn't rain for over a month.
Can't go out in the Sprite with the hood down either. Lifes a bugger sometimes.

[pigtin]

Yesterday was the second launching of the good ship 'Sea Breezes', there was a break in the weather with no wind or rain while we were out.
Only one old git (apart from myself) as boat buddy alowed a little more room for us to stumble about. I thought that I had everything worked out this time but had not taken into consideration my appalling memory; forgot that the car boot could not be opened with the trailer on, forgot to unhitch the boat from the winch clip before trying to float it off the trailer. Upon launching the boat found I could not start the motor because I had left on a bright plastic bag, covering the prop.
Once we were out my buddy fell on to the battery box and smashed it..
I caught a small bass with my first cast and thought it was going to be a good fishing day but that was the only fish we caught in nearly eight hours fishing.
When trying to recover the boat using my old PT Cruiser, borrowed back off my son, I discovered that I could not see the trailer out of the back in order to reverse down the slipway.
Ho,hum; back to the drawing board.

Don.

[buzzy bee]

Hi

I have had a bad week, and reading that has put a smile on my face!

I will explain about my week later!

Cheers

Dave

[pigtin]

Glad to have cheered you up Buzzy, things have only got worse for me;
While flushing the engines out with fresh water I discovered that the spare engine (borrowed from my brother) was not pumping water and probably needs a new impeller, a crappy job to change, and added to that the clamp on the main engine has stripped a thread.
I have put in a bid on ebay for a 36 year old Seagull outboard, they want telephone numbers for them nowdays and I've sold them in the past for a few quid.
They say "worse things happen at sea"; how much worse?

Don.

[pigtin]

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t103/donthebat/seagull.jpg
Just collected the Seagull outboard I bought on ebay, just what I need for an emergency engine. They are so basic it defies belief and this one's 36 years old so is relatively new. I once had one that had been made in the forties and it still started first pull every time.
They have been made since 1931 by the Marstons, (the Sunbeam Mortorcycle company) and now have become quite collectable. There is even a website devoted to them called 'Saving old Seagulls'.

And yes, the one I bought did start first pull.. only the second time it's been started in ten years.

Don.

[buzzy bee]

Hi

I have found that they do comand high prices at farm sales!

Cheers

Dave

[kaybee]

Hi Gents, I've got one of those little gems stashed away, it's in fairly good condition and runs well, they don't seem to have a big following here though. What sort of prices do they command over there and is there some way to identify the manufacturing date of them, thanks, Col.

[pigtin]

Hi Col, yes they sold a million or so of them around the world and all the info you need is on: www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk

Don.

[kaybee]

Thanks for that Don, seems I have a 1946/7 AD series, cheers, Col.

[pigtin]

Third voyage of the good ship Sea Breezes, or more tales of derring-do from captain cock-up and his geriatric shipmate:
Once again my shipmate had been told to travel light as I was providing all the tackle, and once again he turned up with three huge holdalls.
We launched the boat without incident, and rather well I thought. Seemed a good time, while we were still in the harbour, to try out the new (36 year old) Seagull outboard, bought to provide backup if the main motor fails. ‘This, is what we need for an emergency, me hearty' I told him, ‘starts first pull every time’: I undid the seal screw in the tank, primed the carb’, set the choke and gave a mighty pull on the starting cord, and then another, and another…..
I mumbled something about trying again when we were out-of-sight of land. And started the main motor.
After about three miles I pondered on the problems of the Seagull and decided that next time we would try it with the fuel tap turned on.
I had purchased a bait/eel/lobster etc’ trap to lower with the anchor and my shipmate helped me fill it with fish offal, as bait. He then watched me sling the anchor overboard, let out 50ft of chain and tie off the rope without reminding me that I had forgotten to attach the trap. Perhaps it was my fault ?

We set out the rods and waited for the fish to throw themselves at the bait, Eureka! I caught a reasonable sized bass, but it was to be the only fish caught and after a while we decided to move on. Now this was a good time to try the seagull again, I carefully turned on the fuel tap, pulled the cord and it started.
It is a well-known fact that with such a two-stroke motor you should turn off the fuel tap and let the carb’ empty, in order to stop the motor and while doing this I discovered one of the Seagulls more endearing features: the exposed flywheel.
I tried to shrug off the 4inch friction burn I collected on the tender inside part of my arm but still felt a complete prat.
Back in the harbour I was determined to get the recovery of the boat right, and indeed we had got the boat floated on the trailer with no problem other than my shipmate’s discovery that twelve-inch wellies’ perform badly in 18inches of water.

There was still 12foot of rope attaching the boat trailer to the car and I drove up the slipway and into the car park as I had done on both previous occasions, but this time I had to turn to the right and the trailer started to make a bid for freedom. My shipmate noticed this and gave chase with half a gallon of water in each wellie’, as he ran the water shot up out of the wellies’ and hit him in the face but in spite of this he managed to prevent the boat hitting a rather expensive looking 4X4. The only casualties were too stout ladies who had witnessed the whole episode and were rolling around in paroxysms of mirth.
Am I starting to get discouraged? YES.

[buzzy bee]

Hi

Heh hehehehehe

I love these little reports, they make me giggle!

Cheers

Dave

[pigtin]

A little postscript to the above story: I am now sporting a large surgical dressing on my arm and when I tell people it was done by a "Seagull"; it is amusing when they look nervously skywards.

Cap'n Don.