PENN SENATOR 16/0

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ritereel
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PENN SENATOR 16/0

Post by ritereel »

GREETINGS FROM DOWN UNDER.COULD ANY OF THE PENN COLLECTORS ADVISE IF 16/0 SENATOR WAS LARGEST OR WAS A 18/0 PRODUCED AS CLAIMED BY SOME COLLECTORS OVER HERE
Bronco
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PENN 16/0 -- 118

Post by Bronco »

Hi ritereel --

To my knowledge, (and there are others on this board more knowledgeable about Penns than me) the biggest Penn Senator was the 16/0.

It is possible that some confusion may occur because the model number on the Penn Senator 16/0 was No. 118.

Since there are some strange critters "down under" -- there may very well be a 18/0...If so, I'm in the market for it!

All the Best,

Fred
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Post by Araye50 »

If Penn ever made a Senator bigger than the 16/0 I think its pretty clear that they never generally advertised it.

Some years ago an exhibitor at FATC Daytona displayed 'Reels as Big as Your Head' & he thought it was possible that Penn made some bigger prototypes.

So far I've seen no conclusive evidence that they exist, but w/Penn we've often seen anything is possible.
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

Well, as Araye says, anything is possible with Penn, so nothing can be positively said, except that I know it was never mentioned in any catalog.

It could have been done easily and simple at the factory. The original 16/0's had a three piece spool. Simply by extending the spool spindle an inch, then make cross bars and stand one inch longer each and you would have a wide 16/0 118 HLW or a 119---18/0. Much stranger things have happened than that in the World of Penn. :idea:

Many of Penn's prototypes came out of the closet in the 2003 auction. There was no 18/0 prototype sold then.
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Post by Dr. Rob »

Well, I ran into a long-time Penn guy recently whose dad made a lot of the Penn prototypes. Some of them didn't go to auction. Really nice guy; very knowledgeable. I suppose could always ask next time I see him. ( = long time? )

Regarding width and so on, yes... That's exactly what a 16 / 0 is. They took a 14 / 0 117 and widened it. The sideplates are the same. (which goes against usual Senator nomenclature, with the last number being the sideplate diameter in inches.)

On the other hand, there may be other, simpler explanations. I know one reel company that doesn't make anything larger than roughly 7", because that's the biggest that fits in their machines.

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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

Hello Dr. Rob,

All info about Penn prototype is greatly appreciated. Some were sold at the 2003 auction, some were probably crushed and some went home with employees. All are interesting to me.

The big game Senators (10/0 and above) were crossovers. The 12/0 was first to hit the market in 1937. Then in 1938 the 10/0 and 14/0 were introduced. The 12/0 was narrowed to the 9/0's width to create the 10/0. So the 10/0 shares parts with the 9/0 and 12/0. Then in 1939 the 16/0 was introduced which was a widened 14/0. That Otto Henze was pretty smart. :)
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

Hello Ritereel,

Possibly there was a 18/0 Penn made for export or special order to Oz. You guys Down Under have some pretty big fish. :) It can not be easy to catch a Great White on a Alvey.

Cheers
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16/0 reel

Post by Big Lou »

Just to throw another twist in the mix.
I have an old 16/0 that has 12/0 parts inside. Bridge, drags, etc.
Once I realized the difference, I could tell by looking at the space
between the screws that hold the bridge together.
Maybe, they realized the 12/0 drag system was not tough enough and upgraded to a heavier duty system.
So,maybe this is one of the very first 16/0?
Let's start the bidding at $5000 LOL LOL
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

Hello Big Lou,

The difference between a 12/0 and 14/0--16/0 bridge is massive. They will not swap. The 16/0 is 30% larger and has aligning pins that the 12/0 does not have. You could possibly get the top two screws to hold the 12/0 bridge in a 16/0 side plate but in doing that, you bring the main gear shaft extremely out of the center of the large hole on the 16/0. It just can't work.
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

Hello Again Big Lou,

I take it all back. After I re-read what you said, I made a comparison of the first generation 16/0 to a modern reel and you are right. I am wrong again. But now I have learned something that I did not realize. The first generation 14/0 and 16/0 has a bridge that is very close to a 12/0 bridge. When the second generation 14/0 and 16/0 was introduced, after World War II, they had much larger and stronger bridges. The early reels were weak and the parts are history.

So, how much do you want for your old 16/0 :?: :roll: :shock: :)
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reel

Post by Big Lou »

Not for sale now>>>>After I retire and need to make ends meet,then we can talk lol
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

OK Lou, I am still happy because I now know that one is out there. I have been looking for that reel for quite a while. It is a very elusive model. I do have the 14/0, which after all this talk, we know is a narrow version of the same reel. That is how I made the comparison.

I am building a first generation Senator series. It is very difficult to find all seven of them. I need two more, the 10/0 and 16/0.


THE FUN IS IN THE QUEST :shock:
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Post by ReelMan1988 »

Image



What do you think?
Last edited by ReelMan1988 on Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by ReelMan1988 »

Good editing huh.. lol Just screwing around with editing software. 20/0 doesn't exist. Wish it did! :D

I just Joined ORCA last night. I love this Board! Makes collecting Fun!
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Post by Brian F. »

m3040c wrote:OK Lou, I am still happy because I now know that one is out there...THE FUN IS IN THE QUEST :shock:
And, Mike, if you ever get the chance to see Big Lou CAST his 16/0, you can check off another rare item. :D
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

hello Brian,

One would have to be a strong man to cast a 16/0. When I think of fishing a 16/0, a fighting chair comes to the front of my mind. :bow: I am sure I would be very impressed.
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Brian F.
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Post by Brian F. »

Bit of a hijack here and I apologize to Ritereel, but here's Lou, the man who once made a cast clear over the Houston Astrodome. At the 2005 ORCA National in Columbia Lakes, TX, he gave a distance casting demo for convention attendees in which he did everything from casting a broomstick to casting on his knees. Unfortunately, he did not have time to include his 16/0. Just for reference, the audience in the second photo is standing on a hill that's 2' higher than where Lou is.
Image
Image
Last edited by Brian F. on Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

I would need a cannon to shoot a sinker over the Astrodome. :shock:

As a kid I fished the Brooklyn bays from the sand. I had a old broomstick 9 foot rod and a Penn 155. I sold my childhood 155 for about $15 on EBay about 3 years ago. That was triple what I paid for it in the 1950's and that was after 50 years of service to me, just can't kill a Penn if you take care of it. Anyways, back then, I could afford a 100 yard spool of 20lb. mono and every now and then I would be able to cast my three ounce sinker and flounder rig right down to the spindle. I never had the talent to get those casts to go over 100 yards. 99% of the time I would always have a bit left on the spool. Maybe if I could have afforded more line, I would have had longer casts. :roll: My thumb still is calloused from those days.

Long distant casting with a conventional reel is a dying art. I still do it from time to time and get strange looks from the young fishermen when I walk down the beach with my surf rod and Penn Squidder and I still burn my thumb but it is a good pain. :)
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

:shock: OK, I found them. the largest of the Penn Senators, the 32/0--------------------------------------Yes, I said 32/0 !

check out these monsters::::

http://cgi.ebay.com/penn-reel-parts-14- ... dZViewItem
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Post by ReelMan1988 »

Custome Made. They had one on ebay a while back. Sold for 1000.
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

Yes, they are custom made. To me they are a novelty and I do not understand why someone would pay $1000 for one. I believe the parts needed could be made up for much less than that, especially if you have a friend that is a machinist. :)
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Post by ReelMan1988 »

Well, even tho we have machinist's in the family i'd never dream of destroying A Penn Senator, to make a frankenstein! :roll: :D
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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

The difference between Frankenstein and beautiful is in the Eye of the Beholder. Besides, nothing has been destroyed. If you save the original parts, it is easy to put the original back together again.
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Post by Dr. Rob »

BTW Mike, I did ask that guy about larger prototypes... he said he'd maybe heard of such a thing and was going to ask his Dad; just hasn't gotten back to me yet.

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m3040c
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Post by m3040c »

Dr. Rob,

Thanks for asking. If any info comes back, I am all ears.
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