British Seagull
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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 produce new engines but still operate for parts.
The company offered several different engine models from the smallest, called the forty minus (later called featherweight) to the largest, called century plus. There were also several models called the 102 which had modified cylinder heads and a water injected exhaust system.
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.
In the late 1980s British Seagull produced two models, called the model 170 and the model 125. These had engine covers or cowlings and upgraded carburettors and blocks. The internal engines of these models suffered badly however and they were quickly discontinued.
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.
