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The West Bend
If you have read earlier stories, you may remember that two of my first three motors were Elgin’s. You may not have known that most
Elgin motors were made by West Bend. The tooling for the West Bend outboard line was sold to Chrysler. Chrysler's marine division ended up in the hands of
the original makers of Force Outboards, U.S. Marine, which was subsequently bought by Brunswick Corp., parent company of Mercury Marine. (Sorry, got carried
away, back to the story)
West Bend also sold outboards under their own name. I had a friend whose father was a dealer. During that time West Bend apparently were
conserving on costs. Many parts from the 5 HP, 7 ½ HP, and 12 HP were interchangeable. The following year, an 18 HP was created, mostly by increasing the
opening of the exhaust of the 12 HP and a few other modifications.
I am not sure as to the specifics, but I believe a damaged 12 HP was repaired. While doing, so the exhaust ports were enlarged. It
became more powerful than a 12 HP, but not quite an 18 HP. The original cover, having been damaged, was replaced by one from a 5 HP .
We placed the motor on my little aluminum Arkansas Traveler. We decided to go skiing on the canal near Three Rivers Inn in Brewerton.
After unloading the boat from the top of my buddy’s car, we brought out the motor and the skis. Some one noticed the
5 HP printed on
the side of the engine cover, and the laughter started. “If it was a Mercury and you are fantastic skiers you might have a chance, but I doubt it” was
said. The crowd laughed. My friend took offense. He then said that that engine was “souped up” and could beat any 10 HP in the area. A young man with a
10 HP Mercury on a Penn Yan Swift said, “I’ll take that bet.” Now a Penn Yan Swift with a 10 HP Mercury was one fast boat. Also a 10 Mercury Hurricane
with Quicksilver lower unit and racing prop would be even more difficult.
My friend was if nothing else, a con artist. The man with the Penn Yan probably was 22 and went 160 pounds. His friend, about the same
age, was at least 180. My friend just turned 16 and was close to 140 pounds, I was 15 and weighed less than 120. My friend said, “We came here to ski. Here
is a proposition. He would keep even with us until I was out of the water on skis. Once I was standing,
they would both hit the throttle. The conditions were
accepted. My friend wangled a case of beer bet. Brand was winner’s choice.
I was up in no time. The Penn Yan never had a chance. The extra 150 pounds plus in the front of his boat was doom. We may have even won
without him having his friend. We skied back to the shore. The owner of the Penn Yan went to a store and brought back the case of beer.
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