Ocean City narrow spool deep sea reel info?

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reelworks
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Ocean City narrow spool deep sea reel info?

Post by reelworks »

I cam across a real clean used Ocean City narrow spool reel the other day, it's width is about that of a 112, but the diameter is like that of a Penn 130 Sailfisher or just slightly smaller than a Penn 49.
The round logo/emblem is missing.

Might anyone know which model this might be?

The width is the same as a 112, but the diameter and capacity of the spool looks to be actually a bit larger than that of even the larger Penn 49.

I did a quick online search for Ocean City and it didn't turn up a one.
This is the first one of these I've seen here.
Reel Geezer
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Post by Reel Geezer »

I have quite a few Ocean City catalogs, but knowing little about SW reels, I'm not sure what your dimensions mean. I don't know what a 112 or a Penn 49 are. If you could post a photo I might be able to find your reel in one of my catalogs.
reelworks
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Post by reelworks »

Here's a couple of pics, Its the largest one in each picture, next to a Penn 109 and a True Value 981E for comparison.
The side plates measure just shy of 4" across and the spool is about 1 1/2" wide. This style reel is used for trolling and wire line. It's closest Penn counterpart would be a 130 Sailfisher.
These are tall and narrow reels with very deep spools.
Last edited by kyreels on Wed Apr 06, 2022 10:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: bad links for old pix service
Reel Geezer
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Post by Reel Geezer »

Your reel looks to me like a reel they called the "Seattle". They produced two sizes, #1100 = 200 yds, and #1110 = 250 yd. The plates were the same, 3-3/4", but the spool width changed from 1-3/8" to 1-13/16". This reel is in the 1941 catalog, but not in my 1937 catalog. I have no catalogs between those dates, or after 1941, but that might help a bit.
reelworks
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Post by reelworks »

How did they rate capacity, on what line diameter back then?

Could this reel be that old?
I was thinking maybe 50's 0r 60's era?
The handle knob look like plastic, and the finish looks more like stainless steel than chrome, it has sort of a satin look, not mirror like.

The side plates are bakelite and it uses a standard type free spool lever like most other reels, not the toggle switch style flip lever that many Ocean City reels had.

It came to me on an old wood handle 6' boat pole that looks like it was rewrapped at some point since the wraps are coated in epoxy. The blank looks like it has part of the old Montegue logo still showing.

The lot included several other reels, two of which are pictured above, but this one caught my eye only because I had never come across one of Ocean City's larger reels. I do know that they also made some larger reels, but I've yet to come across one myself.

The other reels in the lot were a True Value 981E, several early Penn 109 and Peerless #9's and several more common 110 and 112 Ocean City reels, none of which were in as good shape. They all looked like they had been sitting for years, but this one was pretty clean. The other reels in the lot are most likely pre-1955 or older. There is also a handful of Penn #77's , #78's, and #85's all with wood handles, in the same lot and one really old looking Long Beach 60 with square edged side plates and a different mural on the side than the others I've seen. The

My guess is that this is the larger version, the Side plates do measure 3 3/4".
The reel seat has a 250 stamped on it, but that seems to be on all of the Ocean City reels that I have. The spool is about a half inch deeper than the Penn 49, which holds 300 yds. or 30lb mono. The OC reel's spool tapers inward a bit compared to the Penn, and is a bit narrower too.

I'd like to find a logo for this, but these are pretty rare around here, I see a lot of smaller OC reels, but none like this, let alone in this condition here. Most of the reels I come across have either severe wear or bad salt damage.
Reel Geezer
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Post by Reel Geezer »

I didn't say the reel was that old. I told you that I had no catalogs after 1941. The reel could have been made in the 50s, 60s, or 90s for all I know. The picture in the catalog looks very similar to your reel, but yours has a few minor differences that were probably means of reducing the cost of manufacture.
However - Stainless steel was around at that time, Bakelite had been around for 30+ years, etc...
Now I'm sorry I took the time to look up the information.
reelworks
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Post by reelworks »

I didn't mean to sound sarcastic or anything, I just don't know much at all about the OC reels, they just seem to turn up every so often.

What I meant I guess was could they have made the same model for that long?

Most of the reels I have seen that were made in the 40's always looked a bit cruder than this.

Your description of the 1110 certainly sounds like this reel.

Were OC reels more common in certain areas and not in others?
I have noticed that over the years that OC reels can be had cheap both online and at the flea markets, but up until I found this one, I've never run across anything larger than the 112 model. Which is no larger than a Penn Longbeach 60 or 65.

I also notice that some reels that appear to be later models are boxed or labeled True Value / Ocean City and not just Ocean City.

I certainly appreciate your help here, so far this is the only info I have found at all on this reel. All online searches turned up nothing but a brief history on the company.

What ever happened to Ocean City? The most that I found online was that they were incorporated in 1923 in Philadelphia.
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Post by Reel Geezer »

My first suggestion would be that you go to this page and join ORCA:
http://orcaonline.org/member_application.htm
Many of your questions would be answered by studying back issues of The Reel News, and you'll have a great time learning about your finds.

To give you a few answers:

They were making great looking reels similar to yours in the 1800s. A reel from a good maker was not crude.

Salt water reels are far more common on the two coasts than inland.

Later models were True Temper/Ocean City because the two companies merged. Some era reel also might say Ocean City/Montague on the box or papers - also after those companies merged.

I'm not sure when Ocean City went out of business. Probably about the 1970s.

If you continue to collect OC reels, or any other maker, you will find that their more common reels are inexpensive, but when you get down to the rarer models they become quite expensive, especially if EX condition in their original box.
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Post by Jim Wiegner »

Good morning reelworks:

You will not get any better advice than that provided by Phil. And as he already correctly identified your reel as a Seattle No. 1110 from the 1941 Ocean City catalog, I can add a bit to answer another part of your question.

In the 1950 Ocean City catalog, the Seattle is shown with the automatic free spool lever that you have seen on the No. 112. The model number was the 210 Seattle. It was rated for 300 yards of 28 lb. test .022 Monel wire, or Number 12 36 lb. test linen line.

Your pre WWII reel is a beauty, and as Phil noted, Ocean City produced some very fine reels. Hope this helps.

Jim
Alan Baracco
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Re: Ocean City narrow spool deep sea reel info?

Post by Alan Baracco »

ORCANS,

Sorry to hijack the thread, but seeing Jim Wiegner's name, Wiggy, as we all knew him by, brought back a flood of memories as one of the true contributors to ORCA out of Oregon (originally from the SF Bay area) for many years, passed now but never forgotten.

Alan Baracco
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