Westin aluminum 1448

[d-camarena]

Anyone have any info on this brand of boat?
I picked it up for free because it needed a new transom, benches and had a skipped title.
I got it because I wanted the trailer.
I removed the old transom and found zero corossion, boat is real solid.
Someone did a really good paint job on it.
I guess its an official project now,
I made a mount to for a transom mount trolling motor and replaced the benches yesterday.

Also I went to the title office and it was suprisingly easy to transfer the title in my name.

Info I have-
20hp max
Welded

Has anyone here had one before?
Can it really hold a 20hp motor? I have a 25 im tempted to strap on.
Did westin make good boats?

 

[d-camarena]

What it looked like when i got it
Benches were rotted and transom also

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

20 HP is probably a good motor for that hull. It's got nice lines, should be a good looking boat. I've had more than one 14' aluminum with 20-25 HP. If you put a bit of weight in them such as a deck or floorboards, battery up front etc, they are quite stable. I like a hydrofoil such as a stingray to help pop up on plane easier, plane at lower speeds and eliminate porposing. Some guys love em, some don't , but every 14' boat I've ever owned wore a hydrofoil stabilizer on the motor.

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk

 

[d-camarena]

20 HP is probably a good motor for that hull. It's got nice lines, should be a good looking boat. I've had more than one 14' aluminum with 20-25 HP. If you put a bit of weight in them such as a deck or floorboards, battery up front etc, they are quite stable. I like a hydrofoil such as a stingray to help pop up on plane easier, plane at lower speeds and eliminate porposing. Some guys love em, some don't , but every 14' boat I've ever owned wore a hydrofoil stabilizer on the motor.

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk

Yeah 20hp sounds about right, only reason im considering using a 25 is because i already own a 25hp. If its too much for this boat id have to sell the 25 and get a 20

 

[Weldorthemagnificent]

If it's an older 2 stroke, the weight will be the same. It would be nice to have to power to jump on plane and then throttle back. Id use it.

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[1960 yellowboat]

I have to think that there isn't much of a weight difference between the 20 and 25 hp motor.
I have a 14 ft. Richline semi-vee built in 1960 and it is rated for up to 30 hp. from the factory so that 25 should be fine.
I would definately put the 25 on it and run it before I'd spend the extra money to lose 5 hp.

 

[d-camarena]

I have to think that there isn't much of a weight difference between the 20 and 25 hp motor.
I have a 14 ft. Richline semi-vee built in 1960 and it is rated for up to 30 hp. from the factory so that 25 should be fine.
I would definately put the 25 on it and run it before I'd spend the extra money to lose 5 hp.

Yeah its a 2 stroke, no that heavy. Im gonna try it out. I think it will work, I put the trolling motor and battery up front to level out the boat

 

[1960 yellowboat]

I looked online for Westin aluminum boats but couldn't find anything.
But that doesn't mean much.
At the end of World War 2 a huge amount of rolled aluminum sheet, made for B24,25,29's Etc was declared surplus and small boat builders popped up all over the place since Uncle Sam sold it for pennies on the dollar.
Remember Grumman? They made thousands of planes for the navy and others and when the war ended, switched over to canoes and small boats. They still make the canoes and delivery truck bodies.
Unfortunately when the surplus aluminum was exhausted, many of the small guys could no longer compete.
Some were able to hold on in an era when small fishing boats used to be made by hand out of wood but when the moulded fiberglas era began they too, became extinct.
So finding info about the odd boat is difficult because at the time, no one gave it a thought.
Just a little background.
You have a nice boat.
Enjoy it.
Since your boat is welded, I suspect that it isn't all that old as welded aluminum boats weren't impossible to make earlier, but welding aluminum became more common from 1970 [ I think] or so.

 

[d-camarena]

I looked online for Westin aluminum boats but couldn't find anything.
But that doesn't mean much.
At the end of World War 2 a huge amount of rolled aluminum sheet, made for B24,25,29's Etc was declared surplus and small boat builders popped up all over the place since Uncle Sam sold it for pennies on the dollar.
Remember Grumman? They made thousands of planes for the navy and others and when the war ended, switched over to canoes and small boats. They still make the canoes and delivery truck bodies.
Unfortunately when the surplus aluminum was exhausted, many of the small guys could no longer compete.
Some were able to hold on in an era when small fishing boats used to be made by hand out of wood but when the moulded fiberglas era began they too, became extinct.
So finding info about the odd boat is difficult because at the time, no one gave it a thought.
Just a little background.
You have a nice boat.
Enjoy it.
Since your boat is welded, I suspect that it isn't all that old as welded aluminum boats weren't impossible to make earlier, but welding aluminum became more common from 1970 [ I think] or so.

Thanks for that info, I plan to use it and I mostly want it so I can teach my son to fish and keep him out of trouble.
The boat was made in the 70's, its still very solid.
Ill probably start a build thread