Got a question for you Penn history gurus; I'm not clear about something... was the Model F ever sold to the public, or was the Sea Hawk the first to hit the market?
You're talking about this older SeaHawk and not the old knucklebuster Penn 77, right?
Talking about the 1933 debut version. The Model F was the first Penn, later renamed Sea Hawk, just not sure if the F was ever sold to the public. The first Sea Hawk is a 3-post design.
There were Model F & Model K side plates made. One 1932 reel with the Star drag was found on Ebay inside a 1933 Long beach box which may suggest the 1933 reels were sold in the 1933 boxes to the public.