As you will have realised by the word 'the' in the title we are referring to the outboard motor not the bird! Suddenly they have gone, save for the occasional one seen on the stern of a traditional dinghy (or as a 'get you home' hung alongside a modern engine on the stern of a powerboat).

Rather like the steam railway engine and the single-cylinder British motorcycle they disappeared very quickly from the scene - or have they? Essentially the British Seagull up to the early 1970s was a single-cylinder two-stroke motor with transfer ports (no reed valves), magneto ignition, Villiers-type carburettor, 'wind-on' rope-starting, and direct drive to a reduction gearbox (a dog clutch was available on the larger models). The design was virtually unchanged from the 1930s and certainly the 40+ model was almost the same in 1972 as it was in April 1953, when Yachting World reported on the marque – "By Jove!" (Yes, the report actually contains these words – it makes wonderful reading!)

When I was a lad growing up in the late 1940s and 50s the British Seagull was the engine you saw on the stern of most outboard-powered displacement boats. Alright, I admit there were British Anzani and Seabee, plus several other makes made in this country. However, the engines used by fishermen, ferrymen and the like were Seagulls. With very good reason!

My own direct experience with the make occurred in the early 1950s. Whilst we were on holiday at the South Beach, Heacham, Norfolk, a neighbour took me for my first sea trip in a dinghy powered by a Seagull 102. The boat was about 10ft long and made of aluminium – I loved it! Although I would have only been aged about 6 or 7 I remember sitting on the forward thwart watching the water tumble away from the bow. Over 50 years on the fascination is just the same, if not stronger.

The next time a Seagull came into my life was on the Kings Lynn to West Lynn Ferry. My parents were frequent visitors to Kings Lynn for a variety of reasons, and my treat, when I accompanied them, was a ferry trip. The usual ferry was a large clinker-built boat with an inboard engine. When she went away, as we say in Norfolk, 'for a little repair', her place was taken by a smaller, clinker-built launch about 19 – 20 feet long powered by one of the larger Seagull engines – with a clutch, if I remember correctly.

In 1959 my family moved to Kent and we joined Maidstone Sailing Club – and yes, you've guessed right, a Seagull 40+ powered the rescue boat. Not only was the boat used for setting out the buoys and for rescue work, but also in the winter we often had to break thin ice on the lake to enable us to sail. Goodness only knows what the broken ice did to the paintwork of the dinghies, but I was involved with the race organisation rather than the winter sailing. I just enjoyed the 'ice breaker' bit! Eventually I was allowed to handle the engine, and during my later teenage years knew that motor well; so much so, that among other names I was called the 'Seagull King'.

During my last year in full-time education (1962) the final Medway Barge Race featuring the bowsprit class, Veronica, Sirdar, Sara and Dreadnought took place and my father arranged to borrow a somewhat decrepit cabin cruiser for us to journey down river and watch the spectacle. Unfortunately the race was scheduled during term time and the school's headmaster (who liked rugby, not sailing) would not allow me to take time out to watch the race. I was therefore 'ill' with the necessary letter from my father! The cruiser was powered by a Seagull Century engine that ran faultlessly all day. The photographs I was able to obtain from our floating platform form an important part of my maritime library. They include the paddle steamer Medway Queen – a lovely Dunkirk veteran.

I commenced work at 17 and one of the first major purchases with my earnings was a 40+ for our Heron that was kept at Maidstone S.C. during the summer months, and for our 8-foot pram dinghy that accompanied us on most holidays. (My father was not allowed to tow a trailer at that time with his company car, so we built the pram dinghy to give us time afloat on holidays – she was carried on the car top.) This boat's sailing performance was obviously very limited, and the 40+ added a whole new dimension to our holidays.

The purchase of our 40+ opened up other possibilities on the River Medway, which runs through Maidstone some ½ mile from where the Heron was kept at the sailing club. The lack of a car to tow the boat to the river from the dinghy park was not seen as a deterrent to a group of healthy teenagers!

A group of us (up to three lads and their girlfriends) would meet at the dinghy park at about 9.30 am, having travelled there by public transport, push-bike and legs. The engine and all necessary equipment stored in the clubhouse were loaded into the boat and we would then pull the whole lot by hand through Mote Park and then via the busy streets of Maidstone to the public slipway adjacent to the main town bridge. It took about 30- 40 minutes of hard work, as there were some inclines involved! Launching achieved, the trolley would be left (no problem with theft at that time) and we would proceed at a stately pace up river through the locks at East Farleigh, Teston and Yalding to Sluice Weir lock where there was a small beach ideal for mooring and swimming. Occasionally we would detour up the very narrow River Buelt – a tributary of the Medway, and strictly speaking not part of the navigation. There were no charges for using the river or the locks, therefore the cost of each trip was merely the fuel. Picnics were shared, and what I can best describe as 'limited amounts' of alcohol were consumed before the journey back to Maidstone. If time permitted we would travel about another two miles downstream of the town to Allington Lock where the river becomes tidal. A swift half in the Malta Inn before motoring back to the Maidstone slip.

Our Heron loaded onto the trolley, we then had to trundle her, by hand of course, up the High Street and turn right at the traffic lights to complete the 1½ miles back to the dinghy park via public roads. Everything was covered up and stowed away, then another walk back into the town to catch our buses home. No, I'm not imagining this! All this really did happen on quite a number of Saturdays each summer until I was well into my early 20s. I suppose that drivers treated us as a sort of streamlined handcart and only on one occasion do I remember a driver remarking that the boat should be on the water, not the road!

One incident during this Seagull's life with us adequately demonstrated the amazing 'pulling power' of the engine (no, I don't mean the ladies!). I was single-handed in the pram dinghy returning to Blakeney Carnser from a trip out to the Point. Soon after entering the creek I noticed a Bell Seagull sloop, an 18 ft 6" cabin sailing cruiser, in difficulties due to a failed auxiliary motor. The craft had been heading up the channel towards the quay under power against the ebbing tide. She had drifted into a group of moored boats and was pinned there by the current. A hail from her helmsman asking for a tow from my diminutive dinghy made me wonder it I had sufficient power to help. I need not have been worried! After taking the cruiser's warp and gently opening the throttle we progressed in fine style right up to the quay watched by many bystanders. Favourable comments followed incredulity! (A word of explanation; I believe the word 'Carnser' is Norse in origin and literally means 'boat pull-up' – in other words, a hard.)

This first 40+ was with me from 1963 until 1969 serving on our original Heron, then on a second of the same class that we had built for us and, of course, the pram dinghy. It was also borrowed by friends of our family for use on a Mirror dinghy and a GP14.

Following the sale of our second Heron I branched off into National 12 territory. My father bought first a Mirror and then a GP14 (with 40+ auxiliary) for his retirement. I sold the Seagull to a friend to partially fund my National 12. He was delighted with it!

The Seagull had been completely reliable throughout its years of operation with myself, only requiring a new condenser once when the engine gave the occasional 'miss' to its otherwise even beat. The method of transport to and from home to the local service agent to fit the condenser is not without interest. It was secured to the rear carrier of my BSA Bantam D7 motorcycle – crossways! Can you imagine the expressions on the faces of drivers in a traffic jam as a lunatic motorcyclist sped by them and a 9" Hydrofan propeller whistled past their offside windows! As they say, 'Don't try this yourself'.

During 1973, after about 4 months without a boat, l purchased a 7' 6" Foreland dinghy. Power for this pleasant little boat was obtained from a Mk.2 40+, which in later years went on to power a Gull, an Avon inflatable, another Heron (my third of this class) and my children's Yachting World Utility Pram dinghy. This particular motor now lives in our garage and occasionally leaps into life either smoking out the neighbours in our 'test tank' or performing well on the stern of a dinghy. To quote a cartoon seen many years ago, we don't have a dustbin in our house, we have an outboard motor test tank!

Why did this part of our maritime heritage engender such loyalty? Which magazine commented on this fact in their report on outboards in May 1978. Reliability had high priority in the minds of Consumer Association members who gave their opinion on their engines. Perhaps because for those of my generation, if you were interested in boats the British Seagull always seemed to be around. Until they went 'modern' and fitted a recoil starter you had to start the machine with a length of rope which was wound around the starter pulley – and of course if it didn't start first pull you had to wind it round again! Any passenger sitting too close to the bod pulling the string was likely to get a clip round the ear from an enthusiastically-pulled starting rope – many did! Passengers learned very quickly that if they were somewhere near the stern then it was best to face the sharp end and bow their heads – as it praying for something – like the motor to start first pull!

It was simple to run and maintain. The original oil/petrol ratio was 1:10 or ¾ of a pint to the gallon. Part of the reason for this very oily mixture was the fact that the engine had no crankcase seals and relied on the oil to provide the seal necessary for two-stroke crankcase compression. It also made the bearings last for ever! Compare this to the 1 to 100 mix now common with many modern engines. It also ensured that if you were proceeding at 4½ knots with a 6-knot tail wind you sat in a perpetual smoke screen! Not a bad smell though – at least I quite like it. If you used your Seagull all afternoon then you tended to live with the noise all evening – they do have a very characteristic sound!

Then there was the handbook. Written in marvellous prose descriptive to the 'nth' degree. How many handbooks these days would tell you not to raise your voice whilst afloat because sound travels over water! And what about the advertisements! 'The Best Outboard Motor In (later 'For') The World'. 'Perfectly Simple Everlasting Seagull' and 'Perfectly Simple – It's Seagull' and so on. All heady stuff that adorned the covers of Yachts and Yachting for years.

The service commitment of the firm was exemplary. When I bought my first 40+ I wrote to the firm asking about an induction silencer/storm cowl for the carburettor. By return I received one with their compliments, together with a couple of spark plugs and a drive spring. As they stated in their accompanying letter, it was 'to get me started'. You tend to remember service of this standard. Later, in the 1970s, I wrote an article for the class magazine concerning the use of an outboard with this dinghy, giving the 40+ a very favourable report – as you would expect!

I was on holiday in Wareham just before publication and was given a tour of the factory in Poole, afternoon tea with the managers, and a canvas cover and carrying handle for my engine as gifts. No wonder the firm engendered such loyalty from its customers!

Environmentally, it is probably 'not correct' by the standards of today – but then again neither are jet aircraft. In spite of this ours will be kept in working order – Seagull, not aircraft!

All is not lost for folk like me! There is a wonderful firm called 'Saving Old Seagulls' and they have a web site: www.saving-old-seagulls.co.uk that is well worth a look. As you have probably have guessed I am not a computer enthusiast, but from time to time I access this site to get 'a fix'. Try it yourself – there is an amazing amount of information available, plus secondhand engines for sale. I believe the current phase is 'pre-owned'!

A final thought. The Ladybird Book of Sailing and Boating, which gives an excellent grounding of all the basics you need to know, features a British Seagull on one of its pages – what else! This super little book is no longer in print but can often be purchased at car boot sales/boat jumbles for next to nothing. Easily understood by children and an interesting read for a new helm/crew of any age. In my view it is one of the best sailing primers ever printed, simply because of its clarity.

I fully admit to being 'a bit of an anorak' with regard to matters British Seagull, but we do have a 2 HP Mariner and a 5 HP Tohatsu which also live in our garage. They are very modern, quiet and efficient, but not as much fun as our old 40+!

Ah, here comes the white van - back to the asylum!