Seagull racing, Onepoto
Seagull racing and a regatta that we had at Poirua, Paramata and Plimmerton 17 February 2007
I think it was ratty from "Wind in the Willows" that said something like .... "there is nothing so much fun as mucking around in boats" ....
Pictured above, a momentous scene. Despite his best 'herding cats' efforts Bruce Packer, chief organiser of the day, in the red dinghy marshal boat sets the inaugural Poirua, Paramata and Plimmerton harbour regatta underway - This photo doesn't include all the boats. Several are out of frame heading the wrong way, several are still on the beach and a few late starters were to come along afterwards. And in true herding cats style, the blue and white CATamaran has jumped the gun and got a head start.
[You can make the pictures bigger by click on them. Just mouse the 'Back' arrow to come back to the site]
RACING SEAGULLS?
British seagull outboard racing that is. Pictured above is a racing seagull motor Saving old Seagulls. It is my century 100 "4" hp model. The British Seagull outboard motor company designed this motor in about the 1930's and pretty much didn't change anything right up till the company folded in about 1995.
New Zealand somehow seems to have a more than its fair share of seagull motors. New Zealand New Zealand seagull racing web site and a bunch of stalwarts in Burmuda Round the Island [Bermuda] Seagull Race are some of the very few places in the universe that race British seagull outboard motors.
The British Seagull outboard motor company claim to have 4 1/2 hp and 2 1/2 hp models but in reality they produce about 2 3/4 hp and 2 hp at the prop. On account of having bushes instead of ball bearings, the pre-mix fuel to oil ratio is an ubelievable 10:1. Fresh fuel, a new spark plug and oil in the gear box and the occasional cleaning and 'tweaking' of the points are about all the tender care and attention that the little motors need. Legends abound of motors lying fallow for years and years in the back of sheds or the bilges of sailing boats, brought out, dusted off and fired up like they had only been used yesterday.
In todays culture of built in obsolescence ... the British seagull outboard is a legend.
The bigger 'barge pushers' models have the same power head but a beefed up gear box and the 'torque-ey' motors can push most boats along at a fair displacement speed. But the manuals say that the motors will "not get a boat planning". Now there is a challenge and maybe hence .... seagull racing.
Not being mechanically inclined my motor is stock-standard. I did drill the holes out on the exhaust pipe (that big shiney thing underneath the fuel tank - this didn't actually achieve anything other than make the motor louder. There is a collar that I use to adjust the height of the motor which is important - [TIP- if your motor is too deep the exhaust pressure can affect the performance of your motor - get it up as high as you can and still have a consistent flow of cooling water]. I have also extended the almost non-existent production cavitation plate which helps the water flow around the propellor.
This is the other sort of seagull. I know of nobody on earth that would try to race one of these critters - this one is your standard New Zealand Southern black back gull - Larus dominicanus - it is in juvenile plumage and as an adult it would have black wings and a white body.
Pictured above is Denis Nisbets' racing rig. His is the achetype rig. Keeping in mind that racing British seagull outboards is going to be somewhere right up there with wacky racers, lawn mower racing and madness ... it is easy to loose sight of some reasonable goals: To compete, have fun and finish the race. It is all too easy to get carried away making different boats each year, spending the entire family fortune on exotic and rare British Seagull outboard motor models and chasing the dream of impossible speeds etc, etc. - a bit like me with my minimax Minimax plans
At the end of the day your standard 12 ft aluminium dinghy and a standard British Seagull motor (the sort of things you probably have lying around already) is a sensible option. The boat is going to get you there and back and will be multifunctional (for example you can go fishing with it). The motor won't cost a lot and the 'dinghy class' is always going to be fairly evenly paced. Generally while the dinghy class can get stretched out, they are usually in sight of each other and gaining or loosing a position can be hard earned and hard fought.
Power to weight ratio doesn't seem to be such a problem in the dinghy class. Having a light 'pilot' is going to help your speed, but two is company and there is the 'Bermuda' class that recognises and promotes racers with a crew of 2.
Carrying 'back up' systems is not unusual. Some racers ensure a successfull finish by carrying an extra seagull motor in their bilges. That is a sensible option. But the extra motor adds (almost) unnecessary weight to your racer. There is a certain charm and sense of accomplishment of 'field stripping' a seagull outboard motor while perched precariously on the side of a river bank. Also relying on 'the old faithfull' to go the distance gives seagull racing a raw challenge against all odds that would make 'Biggles' himself proud. This boat has a serious back up option.
This structure was parked around the back of the Onepoto powerboat racing club. I am not sure what it is/was but looks like a boat building project that has gone feral and seems to have turned into a house thingy. It has nothing to do with seagull racing, but I have included the photo here as a warning that if you do want to build a racer, keep your goals focused. Your racer has to be seaworthy, has to float and has to be realistic. Here are a few web sites of free plans to get you thinking about it: Free boat plans and Small boat design UK
A bit of a frenzy of pre-start activity. Not having used my outboard since last easter, there was a moment of will it go? angst. But my 'other' seagull motor: "old thunder", the Blue Seagull 5 R model fired up after the first pull. Then there was a bit of a sea trial to check the boats trim, make a few adjustments and get back to shore for race briefing: This was no ordinary race, it was a rally tour of Poirua, Parmatta and Plimmerton harbours. Not only was it an interesting tour of the area, you had a series of mystery questions to answer by checking out clues at several vantage points. I never got to answer trick question number zero because my piece of paper turned to a watery mush sometime after the second dousing of the day from my minimax plowing through some choppy water.
Quite a few yacht conversions make some excellent racers. This was an abandoned 'R class' hull. Phil in a converted 'Javelin' hull was setting a fierce pace and I never got close enough to get a photo of him in action.
The boys from Taupo, Ray George and Tony Kunac came down for the weekend with their specially built dory. They were fresh from a victorious campaign from Matakana North of Auckland last November.
Ross Leger in another custom built ultra-light dory was flying along on the plane with the best of the best British seagull outboard motors powering him along.
This old dinghy seemed to have a one man sailin and one woman bailin approach to survival - but it was all good fun and great to see them out there.
Dennis had his rig moving along really nicely.
This is a great and comfortable looking 'paper tiger' catamaran conversion. Their motor was a bit reluctant to start, but once it got going, it never stopped?
Dad and the girls seemed to be having a great time. Apparently they were very serious about any time lost by Dad refueling when the seagull tank ran out of gas: no pressure!!!! - yeah right.
Thumbs up and it is all good.
I thought my minimax was small, but this little boat took the cake.
The course was to take the boats up the river at the head of Paramata Harbour, but we had missed the tide and the shallows were off-putting. I hope to be able to visit the area someday in my kayak so I snooped around and eventually found the channel into the river marked by two beacons that looked like two Maimai (duck hunting hides). The entrance to the river follows a convoluted extreme 's' course and then opens up into a straight forward run up to the bridge.
I was the only one to make it to the bridge and back ... and that was a grand adventure in its own right.
Heading back out of Paramata Harbour, Question 2 asked what was written on the side of the building near the boat ramp? The Answer was "Paramata Ski Club". That resulted in a course out of the harbour and on towards the Plimmerton Yacht club that took us past these "boat sheds" famous because New Zealands' Poet Laureate, Sam Hunt, once lived there.
The fleet made it back to the start at the Onepoto powerboat club where we were treated to a barbeque feast. Thanks organisers, after a day on the water that was a life saver. After lunch, there were some races organised, but I for one was a bit cold from my sousing in the choppy morning conditons. The cool SE wind which continued to put up an awkward chop on the harbour - took away my enthusiasm for much more boating. But..... if it was warmer ......
This is a picture of Bruce Packer, the organiser, about to put his minimax with a 10 hp tohatsu onto the water for a 'blast'
Here, Bruce is going full noise into the chop and just getting a bit of 'air' now and then. The boat in the middle distance is the 'Buzz Bomb' a little three pointer that was launched for the first time on the day. Once it was on the plane the motor really 'buzzed' along and in calmer water would have performed spectacularly. Reece makes some last minute adjustments to the steering mechanism on his minimost in the foreground.
The 'Buzz Bomb' up close and personal. I have been warned that as attractive as a three pointer is, they are probably not suitable for the Easter Waikato Race. Particularly not the second day where the river widens and the westerly winds against tide can push up some biggish seas. The problem is you can come out of flat water at speed and get launched on the steep chop. I know first hand as my minimax got launched once - at least 6 feet up into the air and sustained a damaged engine mount when I plowed to a headfirst diving halt on landing.
Three pointers are notorious for flipping once they are in the air - the wide bow and winglets trap the air, while the slender aft part of the hull where the heavy pilot and motor are positioned slides underneath resulting in a backward flip - they are best kept in calm waters.
Reeces minimost minimost plans looked really good and this design while loosely based on a minimax is so much more of a boat.
The owner of 'Buzz Bomb' had this mysterious outboard really going on song and posing a threat to the seagulls. But the inflatable that he had hoped to use on the day punctured and he had to sit out the mornings 'Rally' and then wait for the wind to ease up enough for him to launch his 'Buzz Bomb'.
They days proceedings concluded with the prizegiving where most people got a prize. Great event, good organising, lots of fun, lots of boating, good food, good company ..........
......good times: happy with that!
Thanks Bruce