Repairing a Ocean City 112

[tristan]

I have a Ocean City 112 which belonged to a friend of the family, who passed a few years ago.    It was received as a nice collection of pieces, and miraculously they were all there.

I have figured out the location for all the parts, but the reel has the following problems:

Right side cover is cracked.   Tried epoxying it, no joy.
The bridge is very tight - cranking is very hard.    My guess is the reel was dropped on it's handle at some point, which cracked the side panel and deflected the shaft/bridge, binding it slightly.
The drag needs to be replaced.
The plastic handle is broken.

Now, I know that it's an Ocean City, and probably doesn't make economic sense to repair; but it was an old friend's, and it will be a learning experience to try.   

So, what can be done about the bridge/shaft?  I've tried penetrating oil, hasn't made a difference.
Anyone know which drag washers are a replacement?   Carbon fiber, or Delrin?
Anyone happen to have a right side plate for a OC 112?   PM me.
The handle, I am going to attempt to design and 3-D print a replacement.

Thanks for any feedback.

- Tristan

[Bryan Young]

Hi Tristan,

Right side cover is cracked.   Tried epoxying it, no joy.

I don't think the sideplate could be glued.  I believe that Alan Tani may have a used sideplate for that reel in his bin.  

The bridge is very tight - cranking is very hard.    My guess is the reel was dropped on it's handle at some point, which cracked the side panel and deflected the shaft/bridge, binding it slightly.

It's possible that the bridge and gear sleeve is just sticky from old grease.  If you pull the reel apart, soak it in WD40 for a few days and give it another try.

The drag needs to be replaced.
The plastic handle is broken.

I believe that Penn part 6-60 HT-100 drag washers would fit.  See overall dimentions from MysticParts.com - https://www.mysticparts.com/PennParts/Parts/6-60.aspx

The plastic handle is broken.

I'm sorry, I don't know how to help you from herel

[foakes]

Hi Tristan --

You are right regarding your initial evaluation of this old damaged OC 112.

And you are also correct that all of these items can be corrected, and upgraded drags -- given enough time, patience, multiple shipping fees, handle 3D fabrication, costs of parts, etc..

And since you have stated it has sentimental value (but you likely do not want to break the bank, or spend weeks or months on a project requiring correspondence, fitting, testing, time, additional issues discovered, trial and error, etc.) -- without telling you what to do, here is what I would recommend:

Find a complete 112 at a yard sale, ebay, or CL.  They can generally be purchased very reasonably.  

Mix the parts together from the newly acquired reel with your old one -- keeping as many parts from yours as possible.

Clean all parts completely.

Install CF drags greased with drag grease -- oil, grease, service, adjust -- and you are done.

If there is room for a Delrin under gear washer & Delrin on the top of the drag stack -- Install these also.  May not be enough clearance -- in that case, just go with the lower UG Delrin.

At the end of the day -- you will have a perfect, capable, effective reel -- that will be good for many years of fishing to come -- and you will have some spare parts for future repairs stored away.

And more importantly -- you will have the experience of learning about restoring this solid old reel.

If you cannot find a 112 easily -- I have a bunch of OCs.

The 4 pictured up front are all 112s -- but the maroon one has someone's name scratched on the left plate.

All work well -- and handles are intact and good.

$15 + $7 shipping in lower 48.

Best,

Fred

[bluefish69]

Fred

I just brought home from storage 2- OC reels. Neither one has a Star Drag. There is so much dirt & crud that I can't read the model number. They both work a little but they are low on the repair list.

Mike

[foakes]

Yeah, Mike --

Probably have close to 100.

They are actually very good and solidly simple reels.  Just need drag and handle upgrades.

I do have a lot of respect for them -- just hate the weak handle knobs that tend to desinigrate over time.  And you can only do so much with the little drags.

They were the forerunners of our Penns -- and have fished well over the last 80 years, or so.

My OCs are not allowed in the house shop -- they must stay in the storage shop until they are able to behave themselves -- and act like respectable Penns.  😄😄😄

Best,

Fred

[Porthos]

...Find a complete 112 at a yard sale, ebay, or CL.  They can generally be purchased very reasonably

Going after a "spare parts" reel is often an economical way to go since the sum of a few separate parts could exceed the price of a whole reel.

[tristan]

Thanks for the wise words, and the info regarding drags, etc.

It doesn't seem reasonable to use a functional reel to repair a broken one.   So I'll keep a look out for parts/non-functional reels.

In the mean time, I've used the info on this site to remove all the corrosion on the parts, so the pieces are starting to look pretty good.   

If the parts don't come alone soon, I may offer the bits I have to someone else who needs them.

Now, onto the next project:  a Pflueger Akerite #2068...   This one's all there, just needs a good corrosion removal bath, grease and perhaps some drag washers.