Sailfisher 130 restore

[STRIPER LOU]

Bought this Sailfisher 130 off of flea bay a while back. I was really busy when it came in. Took a quick look at it and thought, not too bad and put it in the pile and I'll eventually get around to it. The foot was really bad and Jay from fishgrain was able to supply a nice one.

After cleaning the oil and grease off which was kinda like a thin coat of cosmoline it was time to get to work. Did the usual and simple stuff on the inside which was a piece of cake, only having to replace drag washers, a few springs and all the screws, but the outside was a different story. The plastic had a ton of fine scratches like it was cleaned with steel wool. Wet sanded with 400 to 1200 being careful not to damage any of the lettering. Then spent about 2 hrs with good ole Never  Dull. It looked good but not great. Decided to take a break and work on the chrome instead for a while.

Nick (Sharkin904) had recommended White Diamond polish and tried it on the chrome along with aluminum foil. Finished it up with a combination of White Diamond polish and never dull.
Really came out nice!
Don't know why I tried it but went back to the plastic with the never dull that had a little bit of the White Diamond paste on it. WOW, in about a half hours time this thing looked like it had been painted with black lacquer. Kind of hard to tell in the pictures but came out with an amazing shine.
At least now its worthy of going into the case.

Does anyone have and idea what years these reels were produced?

..................Lou

[Tightlines667]

Nice work!

These reels were produced from 1954 to 1969.  Yours has the 1-piece, chromed bronze spool which dates it post 1955, and the triple 'pancake' stacked handle counterweight suggests mid to late 50s.  Did it come in a box?  The box would give you a much better idea on tye age.  

[foakes]

Nice job, Lou --

Fairly rare, unknown to most Penn-Nerds -- a little stronger in gears and construction than the 49.

Considered a lightweight reel -- however, very tough.  Able to handle Tuna, Salmon, and smaller Sailfish.

Like John sez -- production ran for about 15-16 years -- ended in 1969.

These are one of my favorite Penn Reels.

Best,

Fred

[STRIPER LOU]

Unfortunately John, no box. At first I was wondering why I bought this thing but it certainly has grown on me since its finished and this thing is pretty darn smooth!. I guess I needed something different in the pile and if Fred likes them, that's good enough for me!
..................Lou

[Classic Mako]

Wow, I have been around Penns for a long time and never heard of a 130.    The reel we called a Sailfisher down in Florida is the 49 and 349.   I would love to see more history on this reel.

A few of my Penn 49 reels below.  Note that the one on the rod with the black tape on the handle is upside down and backwards!  I will make a separate post about this outfit, it was an interesting find. The 49 has a 3-1/2 gear ratio and pulls in 2-1/2 feet of line per revolution on a full spool. 

[foakes]

You have some really nice reels, Classic M --

What you are showing, is of course, the Mariner Series.

These were designing for deep trolling, sometimes with wire line.

The lever that allows the drive train to reverse and stay in gear is a feature that many old timers like.  It allows them to feed out line to the target depth -- under a controlled situation (many of them would just count the revolutions of the handle).

Of this basic series, the 149 is the weakest -- the 49 in the mid-range (strong reel) -- then the 349H Master Mariner is in a class by itself, with a beast of a drivetrain -- overbuilt and tough.  Designed to be basically a winch.

The Sailfisher is comparable to the 49 in many ways -- is slightly lighter, but stronger -- and offers a little more sport when fishing for the experience, and not just meat.  Tall and narrow.  One of Mrs. Henze's favorites.

Looks like you like good Penns -- and if you want to learn some history from the foremost expert in the world -- get Michael Cacioppo's book -- The Chronological History of Penn Reels.

It is available from Mike on our site, from Whitefish Press, or Amazon.

Likely the best $55 - $60 you will ever spend.

Just my opinions.

Best,

Fred

[coastal_dan]

Lou - Fantastic job! The 130 is one of my dream reels, just waiting for the right one.  Again well done, I'm going to remember this post for the future 

[Shark Hunter]

Solid work Lou.
She is sparkling!

[sdlehr]

Lou, amazing what you have done with the bakelite! Beats the pants off of Armor-All... All that sanding must have done by hand... very impressive! I second what Fred said about Mike's book(s).

[Sharkin904]

Looks great man! Love white diamond lol