The Kester House & Garden

The Extras Page

Congrats, you've found the semi "hidden" page at the KesterHouse site. When I'm compelled to blather about something that's not specifically related to the house renovation project, this is where I'll post that information...

So far I have a bit of information here about our sailing dinghies and restoring our British Seagull 40+ vintage outboard. If you're re-visiting this page looking for information regarding hand planes, I've recently moved all of that stuff to a new Hand Planes page over in the Spefications section, since it was getting rather long to include here.

Messing About in Boats

I learned to sail on the wooden 12 meter "Valiant" US21 (2 photos).

We live next to a lake. We have access to a very nice dock on that lake. Part of the deal with helping the neighbors put in the dock each Spring then take it back out each Fall is that we get a spot on the dock to tie up a boat... the problem is we'd need to actually have a boat to take advantage of that deal. When I first moved here 20 some years ago, I got myself a little 14' Aluminum fishing boat and used to go puttin' around the lake fishing nearly every night after work. After a few seasons of that I got busy with other stuff and just sorta lost interest in the whole boating / fishing business and sold the boat. A series of events with work and various friends eventually landed me a job working on a wooden 12 meter race boat based in Marblehead, where I learned to sail and enjoyed a couple seasons as part of the delivery and race crew for that boat. I really enjoyed sailing and decided to try and find a little dinghy to play with on the lake.

My first sailboat - the 9' Dyer "Dhow" (4 photos).

The first sail boat I came up with was a wonderful little 13' fiberglass Peapod dinghy with a "leg-o-mutton" rig. The Peapod belonged to a woodworker friend that used it as a tender for his Alden 42. He was rebuilding his Alden behind his wood shop, and the Peapod was sitting in the corner of his shop in pretty rough shape. He loaned me the boat under the terms that I'd fix it up and be able to use it until he got his Alden going again. I did a little fiberglass and paint work on the thing, cleaned and refinished the wood rail, replaced the rigging, then enjoyed a summer of sailing on our little lake with that. He got his Alden back in the water the next year and I said goodbye to the Peapod. We figured I'd get it back whenever he wasn't off cruising with the Alden, since he kept his boat in a slip in Boston Harbor and didn't need the Peapod on a daily basis. Unfortunately he got caught in a late season blow off the coast of Maine and lost the Peapod to Neptune (he also lost his rudder, and nearly the Alden, but he's quite a good sailor and managed to save his boat and the 4 souls on board as well - however, chasing the Peapod down after that storm wasn't high on his to-do list at the time). I was sad to hear of the demise of the Peapod, but it wasn't my boat so there was nothing to be done.

The first sail boat I actually owned was another basket case donation given to me by the neighbor that lives here on the water. He'd seen me sailing the Peapod from time to time, and had his own sailing dinghy that was in need of a great deal of work. Based on what I'd done to bring the Peapod back to life, he decided I'd make a worthy owner for his little gem of a dinghy since he wasn't interested in trying to repair it himself. He gave me a 9' Dyer "Dhow" dinghy that he'd owned for over 30 years. The Dhow had been stored upside-down for many years next to the lake, and while the seats and interior fittings where in fair shape, the outer wooden rail that gives the fiberglass hull all of its strength had been completely rotted away by all those years of sitting exposed to rain and snow. I was quite happy to have a new dinghy to play with, and contacted the Dyer Boats company in Rhode Island to see if they still had parts available for these things. Surprisingly they still manufacture the 9' Dhow, so I was able to get everything I needed to restore it to like-new condition. I put quite a bit of work into the Dhow, and I think the results speak for themselves. We kept that in the lake for a couple months, and I noticed the hull was really starting take on a nasty brown stain from the murk of the deep. That was simply unacceptable - so the Dhow went to storage (after a thorough cleaning and fresh coat of wax), and there it stays until I have a garage to keep it in. It's just too nice to leave tied up at the dock. I'll gladly sail it from time to time when I have a place here to properly store it. The other problem with the Dhow is while it's a very nice dinghy and quite easy to sail, it's pretty cramped to try and go for a sail with the lovely bride in a little 9' boat.

The Sumner "Islands" 12 (4 photos).

So I kept helping with the beast of a dock, and every season I'd threaten to find a less pristine dinghy to leave tied up there to enjoy sailing on the lake with the lovely bride. The neighbors seemed to not like having a big blank spot on the dock, and as their kids have gotten older, their kids friend's have starting showing up with boats of their own to tie up down there. We finally decided we'd better get something to tie up or we were going to lose our "slip", so I starting looking for a new sailing dinghy in earnest. I'd noticed a decent sized fiberglass dinghy for sale nearby by a few times in 2008, but by early 2009 the boat wasn't out near the road with a sign on it anymore (although it was still in the same guy's yard). I finally stopped by one Spring day and had a nice chat with the fellow who lived where the boat was stored. It turned out the boat didn't belong to him, but was owned by a friend of his from Essex that often travelled on business and wasn't using the boat as often as they'd like. It was still for sale, and after a bit of haggling on price (they were offering 2 outboard motors with the boat, which I had no interest in and negotiated a lower price for the boat sans motors), we purchased our second sailboat - an "Islands" 12 built by the Sumner Boat Company of Amityville, New York.

I didn't do a full-blown paint and restoration job on the Islands, although I did replace all the running rigging, give the hull a good scrubbing, and go over the old gel coat with a couple coats of polish and wax/sealer just to make it a bit easier to clean. Oh, there are a few pieces of Teak here and there on this thing, so I refinished those and gave them an application of Sikkens Cetol® Marine finish. It's not perfect, but I'm happy with the condition knowing what happens to it sitting in the sludge of our lake. It's a fine sail, and easy to handle solo with plenty of room for both of us to go out for an afternoon and toss anchor at the far end of the lake for a snack and an adult beverage. I still need to get a proper set of oars for this one, and next season I'll see if I can get my old British Seagull outboard motor in working order for those windless days when the water beckons.

I'm happy with the current state of the dinghy now (4 photos).

Summer 2010 Update
With the boat getting an outboard this season (see below) and oars, I wanted to address the seating layout and see what I could do with the rigging to enable going from rowing to power to sail without too much trouble. The two molded-in bench seats running lengthwise were fine when sailing (although I usually knelt down on the floor just aft of the centerboard compartment when sailing, which could get uncomfortable after a while), but there really wasn't anywhere to sit when rowing or motoring. To make the boat a little more comfortable, I added a pair of wooden bench seats this season. I made the seats from Red Oak, scribed to the hull lines so they fit nicely without shifting around too much. The forward seat is hinged in the center, and has a pair of wooden cleats attached to the bottom that fit into the handle slot of the centerboard compartment. When rowing, that forward seat is a lot more practical than trying to sit on the centerboard compartment, and for motoring it provides a comfy place to enjoy the ride. When sailing, the seat folds in half and fits into the forward storage compartment, allowing access to operate the centerboard handle. The rear seat is too long to fit into the storage compartment, although it doesn't need to be removed when sailing (and is a lot more comfortable than kneeling on the floor while under sail).

Other changes include shortening the tiller by about 8-inches (a made a new shorter tiller with some scrap Ash I had, rather than just chop off the end of the original one with a saw), so it doens't hit me in the back when sitting on that rear seat. I picked up a proper set of aluminum oars that collapse and fit nicely in the forward storage compartment, and replaced the plastic oarlocks with some more substantial stainless steel ones. I also added a couple cleats near the tiller to tie off the rudder when motoring, and a small "compass pouch" near the motor to keep the starter pull-cord handy. To keep the headsail in place when motoring I made a big loop of shockcord with a clip on it that fits around the two bow cleats then clips to the mast, providing enough tension to tuck the rigged headsail underneath and prevent it from blowing around. The mainsail was a little more challenging because the boom needs to be unhooked from the mast in order to fold it up (the gooseneck starts to bind once the boom is raised 45° above horizontal or so). Now we can take the boat out with all the sails attached and ready to go, either rowing or motoring off the dock. If the wind is good, we can then enjoy a sail for a while, then drop all the sails and just motor home. The new rigging and motor allow us to take the boat out with much less of a hassle than last year, so we've been enjoying a lot more boating after work this season. It's not quite the same as the 12 meter, but it'll do.

"The Best Outboard Motor for the World"

The British Seagull 40+ as found (7 photos).

At least that was the company slogan of The British Seagull Company Ltd. back in the day. Since the design of these little smokers was essentially unchanged from the early-30s until the end of production in the mid-90s, they may have been on to something. There's really not much to this little outboard, but based on everything I've read about these engines, I can't imagine using any other motor on my dinghies - besides, the thing is just gorgeous.

I picked mine up about 10 years ago for a hundred bucks from a friend I used to work with at a VW shop a while back. He had a nice collection of goofy outboards in his shop, and not long after I got the Dyer Dhow, I spied the old Seagull hanging off a saw horse in the corner of his place and asked if he'd sell it to me. It's missing a couple of nuts here and there, the throttle cable is destroyed, and the fuel-tap screen is completely mashed, but it otherwise looked complete. Since the Dhow remains in storage, I really haven't had any need to spend the time to bring the Seagull up to working order and it just sat in a corner of the garden shed. Now that the Islands 12 is in the water (and considerably heavier than the Dhow), I think it's time to get the Seagull up and running for use on the new dinghy.

First things first, I needed to figure out exactly what manner of Seagull I own, then find some literature and a parts supplier. After a bit of research into the engine number - FP 112N7 - I've determined it's a 2-3hp Model 40 plus, with a Villiers carburetor and a Wipac Mark II ignition system. The motor was manufactured in December of 1967. As for shop and owners manuals, proper tools and replacement parts, I looked over E-Bay from time to time, but the prices were wildly variable, and buying used parts didn't seem like a great idea. There's a couple suppliers in the U.S., but their websites look pretty out-dated, so no telling if they still actually have anything. I decided the best source would be from the U.K. Without a doubt, the most reliable source appears to be the Saving Old Seagulls Company, with John Williams at the helm. Not only does John have a wealth of information on his site, he even sells a custom set of Whitworth/BSF tools he put together specifically for servicing the Seagulls (I've been very hesitant to start dis-assembly without a manual and only a "several-sixteenths" adjustable wrench to fit the odd hardware of the Seagull). He also obtained the manufacture's stock of spare parts when they stopped production, so he certainly seems to be the go-to guy for all things Seagull. I recently contacted S.O.S. and am currently putting the final touches on my first order of goodies from John. Hopefully, I'll have a few books, tools and parts to get started in a few weeks.

It's a motor no more! (4 photos).

Dis-assembly & Cleaning
The parts arrived a couple weeks after they were ordered, and after a thorough perusal of the new Service Manual and Spares List, I proceeded to completely take apart my poor little Seagull. I found a couple more broken bits, but managed not to break anything else in the process so I dashed off a message to S.O.S. for a replacement fuel cap and spark plug cover. Everything got a good going over with a fine wire brush and a bio-degradable degreaser, followed by a few hours of detail work with the Dremel® and the bench buffer. I stripped the fuel tank, and gave that a fresh coat of Rust-Oleum® High-Performance Gloss Black enamel (hopefully it's fuel proof). The flywheel was repainted with a nice bronze wrinkle-finish paint that's a perfect match to the original. The cast bronze motor mounts cleaned up nicely, so those got a couple coats of clear enamel, then everything else received a few coats of Renaissance Wax to help keep things shiny. With all the bits cleaned up and ready to go back together, it's time to clean and rebuild the carburetor.

Re-assembly
The first bit to go back together was the lower end and motor mount section, which was just a few bolts to re-assemble the bronze mount - I didn't take apart the gear box and water pump, since there's nothing wrong with it. The prop got a new drive spring and pin, although I'll need to remove it again when I run the motor in a test tub.

Putting it back together (6 photos).

The upper half received the most attention with regard to the ignition system, since the thing has been sitting so long the magneto was completely "de-energized" - in other words the magnets inside the flywheel weren't magnets anymore. I unscrewed the points from the base plate, and after making the contacts nice and clean, I touch the end of the coil wire to a AA battery then grounded the end of the battery to the base plate for just a second to re-polarize the coil. The points went back down and got adjusted to .020", then I placed the flywheel back onto the shaft and grabbed the 1/2" drill. After a couple squirts of oil into the cylinder, I chucked the end of the shaft into the drill and gave the motor a good spin for about 5 minutes with the drill. Ah, the wonders of electro-magnetism! The tiny induced charge in the coil from the battery was enough to get things started, and as the flywheel spun and the points opened and closed, the coil built up a healthy amount of magnetism in the two flywheel magnets. That should do the job nicely to provide a good strong spark when it comes time to run this thing.

With the ignition system happy, I re-attached the upper half of the motor to the lower end, then turned my attention back to the fuel delivery system. I haven't heard back from the parts supplier, so I managed to get the fuel cap taken apart after a good soak with penetrating oil (the vent screw was well encrusted in the cap), then spent some time cleaning up the soft Aluminum vent screw after I mangled it pretty well when trying to get it to move again. It all fits together the way it's supposed to now and turns freely, so this fuel cap should work for now. I applied the nifty water-slide instruction decal to the tank, then when it was dry gave it a couple of coats of clear enamel and installed the tank.

The carb is back on and assembly's complete (3 photos).

The carburetor, like the rest of the motor, only has a couple parts to it so dis-assembly and cleaning was very simple. The throttle cable was replaced and adjusted, then all the pieces went back together after polishing and the whole works was clamped back onto the engine block. The fuel tap was also cleaned and polished, and after a few minutes in some boiling water the original cork fuel stop swelled enough to provide positive fuel control. The cork was coated with oil then the tap and line were attached to the motor and it was all ready for a test run. I set up a barrel of water on the porch of the shed, clamped the motor on and mixed up a gallon of fuel at 10:1 with some 2-cycle outboard oil. On the third pull, the old girl sprung to life!

I made a wooden wedge for the transom of the Islands 12, and added a little pad-eye so I'd have some place to attach a safety lanyard for the motor, and we were ready for a putt around the lake. Out first attempt was met with mixed success - the motor ran great, but it's no match for the dense lily pads around the dock, and after about 2 minutes the prop was so entangled with weeds the motor stalled out. Lesson learned - row the boat past the lily pads before starting the motor! I also needed to make a little depth adjustment collar for the motor shaft, since it was sitting very low in the water. If it's not mounted at the correct height, there's too much back pressure in the exhaust tube which causes hard starting and reduced power. Our second trip was much smoother, since the motor was at the correct height, and I'd made a few adjustments to the mounting wedge to get the of the prop angle just right.

The restored 40 plus mounted on the Islands 12 (2 photos).

Having a motor for our little dinghy makes enjoying the lake a real pleasure, since there's no longer any worry about trying to get back to the dock if the wind dies, or having to tack all the way home if we get blown to the far end of the lake. It's very surprising how quiet the Seagull is, and even though it's running on a 10:1 mix it doesn't put out clouds of smoke. It moves the boat along at a pretty good clip, despite it only being 2-1/2 horsepower. All in all, we're very happy with the "Best Outboard Motor for the World".

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