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Seagull Outboards
British Seagull was a British manufacturer of 2 stroke outboard engines from the early 1930s until the mid 1990s. The company went out of business due to the motor design not being able to keep up with more modern boat engines and increasingly tight emissions regulations. British Seagull no longer produces new engines but still operates for parts.
The main engines produced through most of the companies history can be divided into 2 main types. The Model 102 and the Classic models. The Model 102 was a development of the very early Marston models offered through the 1930s. They featured an all in one engine block and cylinder head and a water injected exhaust. The Model 102 engines were fairly large with the largest having a 13 inch diameter propellor and has obtained the name of "The Barge Pusher". The other style of engine, known as the classic or Square block models were divided into 4 main types. The Featherweight or Forty Minus, The Forty Plus, The Century and the Century Plus. The Forty Minus and Plus used identical power units but the Plus had a larger gearbox and propeller. The century and Century Plus used a larger 102cc Block with larger gearboxes and propellers. The engines remained in production from the late 1950s right through to the mid 1990s and many examples of early engines are still in everyday use.
From the early 1980s a new series of British seagull outboards were made available called the QB series. These were designed by Queen's University, Belfast (hence QB) and featured quieter engines, water cooled exhaust, modified cylinders and were painted in black. These were known by some as the Irish Seagull.
In the late 1980s British Seagull introduced two further models to their range these were called the Model 170 and the Model 125. These had engine covers or cowlings and upgraded carburettors and blocks. They both suffered from poorly designed crankshaft bushings which caused the company many problems and inevitably the models were never popular.
One main feature of a British Seagull is the gearbox and propellor combination. At first glance, they seem very primitive but due to the high gearbox reduction ratio they are capable of propelling much larger boats than might be expected. The silver Century Plus model, for example, is designed to propel a displacement hull of up to 26 feet in length.
Towards the end of production a new model called the 5r was introduced. The design of this engine was quite different from other models as it used a conventional outboard gearbox which was from a Yamaha 4HP outboard, this was attached via an adaptor plate to a QB series power unit and was painted blue. Some of the very last engines to leave the factory had gold painted propellers and recoil starter tops and are called "gold tops" by enthusiasts.
Models manufactured from 1931 to 1978 have a recommended petrol to oil mix of 10:1. 25:1 was recommended for later models. This relatively high percentage of oil probably contributes to the engine's longevity.
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British Seagull - Outboard Motors
British Seagull was a British manufacturer of 2 stroke outboard engines from the early 1930s until the mid 1990s. The company went out of business due to the motor design not being ...