12' Aluminium Skiff Kit

[MCKDAVID]

you used to be able to get buoyancy bags for the sailing dinghy's that could go inside them if you're concerned.

aye addjunkie, the seagulls were quality, mind you even a second class outboard was still better than first class oars

 

[Hood]

Seagulls were maybe slightly better than oars but even that is debatable

 

[MCKDAVID]

aye, I'll give you that..

 

[Pete.]

Seagulls were maybe slightly better than oars but even that is debatable

At least if you lost one over the side you didn't have the torment of it always floating just out of reach....

 

[Hood]

At least if you lost one over the side you didn't have the torment of it always floating just out of reach....

I have known of quite a few seagull engines being lost over the side....... deliberately

 

[MCKDAVID]

aye the old float test.... it failed..

 

[Hood]

aye the old float test.... it failed..

Ha ha yes, used quite a lot for all sorts of things

 

[addjunkie]

I once saw a suzuki 90, drop of the back of a powerboat. They never did find it. Running out on the tilt ram above the max trim, rough water, one mount breaks, 30 seconds later at the turn it just dropped off. Suprised me it wasnt hanging on the cables.

And seaguls served a purpose, sadly like many other uk companies they didnt update with the times

 

[Hood]

.......And seaguls served a purpose, sadly like many other uk companies they didnt update with the times

Bikes and Machine Tools, it was exactly the same attitude that killed them.

 

[Jim Davey]

 

[Jim Davey]

Does anyone know where I can get hold of some of that yellow/green etch/passivate stuff they paint on ally inside planes/boats etc?

 

[Hood]

Just do a search for acid etch primer and you should get some place nearby especially seeing as where you come from.

Other option is let it weather for 6 months before painting

 

[Jim Davey]

Not a bad idea. I won't be using it much this year, by the time it's done most of the good weather will be behind me.

 

[Hood]

Not a bad idea. I won't be using it much this year, by the time it's done most of the good weather will be behind me.

They used to build the Alu wheelhouses early when a new boat was getting built then let it weather until the boat was finished.
I added a hopper to one of these boats that had been built about 20 years previously and when I ground off the paint it was the best preserved of any I have worked on and no etch primer had been used, just the natural oxide had formed prior to painting.

 

[Jim Davey]

You still have to key it up with a sander first though before you leave it to weather? If you wait until its weathered, then key it, I imagine you'll sand right through the oxide layer?

 

[Cobbler]

Seagulls were maybe slightly better than oars but even that is debatable

We had a Seagull as an emergency engine on the diving club boat. It would start 100% when you tested it, it would never go 100% when you needed it. We ended up getting rid of it as you could never rely on it.

 

[Hood]

You still have to key it up with a sander first though before you leave it to weather? If you wait until its weathered, then key it, I imagine you'll sand right through the oxide layer?

Nah, just painted with standard primer then top coat, no sanding.

 

[Hood]

They did wash it down first though to get rid of the salt and muck.

 

[addjunkie]

Just leave it to furr up, low maintenance.

 

[Jim Davey]

I'm not a fan of furry grey aluminium, it offends my sense of aesthetics.