Hp rating and people capacity for older weers

[Cat nip]

Hi all I am new to this forum and looking at getting a mid 70s weeres 18' pontoon. It has a 40hp johnson on it now, there is no coast guard plate on it so I am wondering how many people it is rated for and since the engine isn't in good shape maby putting a 60hp on it if it can handle it. Any Information is very much appreciated!

 

[HotTommy]

They're still in business. Here's their website: http://www.weeres.com/

 

[ahicks]

Some of the older boats had some pretty small tubes under them, so they are weight sensitive (much more so than today's 18's). If the 60hp is much heavier than the 40, I'd be hesitant from that aspect alone - and that's assuming the transom/mounting area would handle the extra weight/power. 18 footers back then generally didn't have a lot of power on them. A 40 would have been on the upper end of the scale, with most having 25's or something smaller yet.

 

[Cat nip]

Ok thanks for the info. He sent me some more pictures and the logs look like they have some big dents in the bottom and there only 18"diameter .so I will probably keep looking.