Hello and Penn 49 Super Mariner Drag Upgrade

Uncle Binky · November 24, 2010, 07:42:56 AM

Alan - Thanks so much for this site! What a great way to meet out of the wind!
I've got a question regarding my Penn Super Mariners that I'd appreciate some help with.
I have four of these reels I've used for years for everything from salmon to (small) halibut to albies, but I'd like to upgrade the drags somehow so that I don't have to crank the star until it hurts my finger just to turn a tuna's head. All four have the stock drags in them. Is there a dry stack that applies more drag with less pressure? Thanks for your thoughts.

akfish · November 24, 2010, 11:58:12 AM

There really isn't much you can do other than use HT-100s and make sure the metal drag washers are absolutely flat. The 49 isn't much more than a 40# reel. Lots of people use straight80# spectra up here (Alaska) for halibut but pretty much fry their 49s after a big fish or two...

alantani · January 03, 2011, 09:09:02 PM

the 49 is another reel that greatly benefits from a stainless steel gear sleeve. otherwise, it's just upgrading to greased ht-100's. you will be amazed at the difference. alan

andyh1213 · June 26, 2011, 11:35:32 PM

I'm also in the process of rebuilding a Penn #49 reel, and upgrading the drags.

It comes stock with the 3-drag system, but I've heard people can upgrade them to a 5-drag system. What parts would I need to do this? Can I use the same HT-100 #6-49 washers, or would I need something thiner since there will be more washers?

thanks, andy

akfish · June 27, 2011, 10:58:29 AM

I doubt it is possible to upgrade the drag on a 49 to a 5-stack system. The main gear simply isn't deep enough. With grease carbon fiber HT-100s and flat metal drag disks, you'll be able to get all the drag the reel can tolerate.

Alto Mare · June 27, 2011, 12:25:47 PM

Hello, if you're looking for more drag you might want to consider the 113H or the Narrow 114H, which is similar to the 49 with just a little less speed but more power under the hood

. Get yourself the stainless steel gear sleeve from Alan and upgrade the 3 washers plus the one under the gear to HT100'S and you've got yourself a nice reel. I still use these today.

Dominick · June 27, 2011, 06:17:53 PM

Hey Guys: I just bought and took apart a "Penn # 49 Deep Sea Reel." It does not say Mariner but the # 49L Mariner looks the same. It is a good looking reel and I would like to upgrade it to its max. Would the SS gear sleeve work in this reel? The main gear and pinion in my reel are SS. Here are some photos before I broke it down. It cleaned up pretty good. I have not put it back together until I figure out the replacement drags. Look at the chrome spool, its kind of handsome don't you think? Handsome? We are crazy, these are fishing reels... I'll post another picture when I button it up. The crud you see is all polished away. Dominick

Alto Mare · June 27, 2011, 10:46:38 PM

Domenicuccio, that is a nice reel. I have a few and one of them is just like yours with the same spool, that reel appears to be from the silver anniversary, introduced in the 50's. As far as upgrading, just do as we mentioned here above, I think Alan has the ss sleeve, the HT100's are 6-49 and the metal if needed are 7-49. I've been installing the same HT100 drag stack washer for under the gear on a few of my reels without any problems, I leave that one up to you. Keep the gears to 1+3, that would be plenty for that reel and try to use it, you'll be amazed, I still use mine. I don't know if you have the box, the specs are as fallows: gear ratio 3.5-1 line capacity 300 yrds-30 lb. Hope this helps,take care bud.

Dominick · June 27, 2011, 11:34:26 PM

Quote from: Alto Mare on June 27, 2011, 10:46:38 PM
Domenicuccio, that is a nice reel. I have a few and one of them is just like yours with the same spool, that reel appears to be from the silver anniversary, introduced in the 50's. As far as upgrading, just do as we mentioned here above, I think Alan has the ss sleeve, the HT100's are 6-49 and the metal if needed are 7-49. I've been installing the same HT100 drag stack washer for under the gear on a few of my reels without any problems, I leave that one up to you. Keep the gears to 1+3, that would be plenty for that reel and try to use it, you'll be amazed, I still use mine. I don't know if you have the box, the specs are as fallows: gear ratio 3.5-1 line capacity 300 yrds-30 lb. Hope this helps,take care bud.

Sal, thanks for that. So my 49 is the same as the Mariner 49, yes? Do you have any idea of the maximum drag I can get out of the reel. I will use it for Salmon and load it with 30lb. I would expect that I can get 10lbs of drag without changing the sleeve, although I will change it. Wait until you see how clean it came. By the way where did you get the history of the reel possibly being an anniversary reel? I tried to research it but Penn has a poorly organized web site. Also if it is an anniversary reel maybe I should just slap it back together and put it on the shelf as a collector's item. Maybe Dom will weigh in on this. I can always use the 113HL for Salmon.

Alan: Do you have the sleeve? If so, please send it to me with a PM for the price. Do you know why Photobucket deleted my photos? Dominick

Alto Mare · June 28, 2011, 12:03:53 AM

Dominick, that reel is the same as the mariner, the only difference is the left side plate, yours has the nice etching on it the mariner doesn't. You should have no problem pushing it a little over 10lb. without changing the sleeve. I happen to catch one of your pix before they got deleted and the reel looks like one that came in one of my anniversay box, from the late 50's. The 49 was in production from 1941 to 2006, it had a plastic spool in the biginning, a chromed brass spool along the way and an aluminum spool towards the end. As far as putting it on a shelf, enjoy it and go fish, we only live once.

Bryan Young · June 28, 2011, 07:07:50 AM

Besides, I think AKFish has a few 49s that he is selling. So if you need replacements...

Alto Mare · June 28, 2011, 10:53:25 AM

Yeah, he always has something for sale and always tells it like it is. Good guy to deal with! Keep up your great work Akfish.

akfish · June 28, 2011, 12:08:41 PM

Yea, I do have a few 49s for sale in the shop. I usually get $50 - $60 for them depending on how they look. I also have 320s, 113Hs, 209s, 309s, 65s, 60s, 285s and more...

Bryan Young · June 28, 2011, 02:23:28 PM

AKFish, if you send me pics of the reels you have for sale, I'll upload them for you.

ReelSpeed · June 28, 2011, 03:10:13 PM

If you like this reel and want more drag, then you will want to look for a penn 349.. pretty much the same size but the drags from 113H.

Also, later today I will document a upgrade that my dad originally did to his (now mine) penn 49. He used it for yo-yo jigging. The nice thing about the reel is the amount of line that it picks up.

Aaron