VanPenn
 

Finally picked up my first waterproof/seriously water resistant reel. Wanted to go Van Staal, but just hadn't been able to save enough yet and found this one. Had been sent to a drilling company in CT then to the Reel Restorer in FL I believe. Thing came out MINT :btu:. Came to about $200 total for all the work done including what I paid for the reel. Can't wait to fish this thing. Saved at least several hundred going this way too. Nothing against VS, but man it seems like everytime I go to check out the prices, they have only gone up :hang:

Here are some pics I took... only a few more weeks till I finally get out of upstate NY and back to the cape!

very nice! who did the drilling?

Nice!

A&B Machine in CT

OK I'll bite......how is this a completely water proof reel? I don't see how milling it to look like a VS makes it waterproof.

I would think you would be taking it apart for a teardown after it got dunked a couple of times.

Yeah I don think that reel can be dunked. I did the same to my Penn and I would never dunk it.

no i agree totally... i did mention water resistant. i dont plan on swimming with this thing, but if it got wet, i would not mind. i plan on packing it with a lot of grease and hopefully that will help some. it was an alternative to buying a VS right now so i grabbed this one. a lot of my friends have penn reels and dunk them all the time though with no issue. just have to rinse it out and take it apart every now and then to add some more grease. the plus side is that this thing is so easy to take a part, i figured what the heck and bought it. if anyone has a VS they would like to sell for $200, show me the way :hee:

pack the lower unit with grease and it is semi-water proof....

I fish penns (bought them right before they stopped being made in the US)
although I don't dunk them regularly, they have been dunked on many occasions and I've never had an issue, I rinse them off and take them to surfland to be serviced maybe once every couple of years!

Those 704's are supposed to be bulletproof anyway, so drilling them probably makes them more so because the water just has more chances to escape before getting in there are screwing the reel up.

that was my thinking exactly... i know this reel will not be completely "waterproof" but, the longer water sits in the spool area and around it, the greater the likelihood it will sneak into the lower unit and screw with the gears over time... and i think it look pretty sweet :hihi:

yeah it does look pretty cool and I think we'll be seeing more "penn stalls" in this economic environment!

Very nice looking reel!

you could swim that reel as long as it's properly packed with grease...

Use blue marine grease. It will not only lubricate, but will also prevent electrolisis
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Is it permitted to link a thread from SOL? Nice discussion on using Vaseline and 3-in-one.

I knew those New Jersey Guys are Twisted.......but that just sounds painful...:faga::bshake:

Sorry - I'm gonna rain on your parade. ;)

Waste of time & $ IMHO. All those holes do is weaken the cast aluminum pot metal. I LMAO every time I see the "Van Penns". Drilling holes to save weight is an even BIGGER joke. To help get the sand out is a little more valid, but over kill. Few years back I posted (on SOL) how much weight each hole would save in a certain size range.

Penn's drag isn't waterproof nor is anything else on the reel. Sorry - I just don't get it. :p

Van Staal & Zeebaas are machine from SOLID pieces of aluminum. Big difference in strength AND cost. For what a VS costs they should wind line better than they do (seems like larger sizes are OK, many of the smaller ones are coned real bad!). At least the ZB winds the line on evenly. ;)

Hey - some one has to speak some truth. I have no agenda and I'm not paid to promote any one's product. I just tell it like it is.

I like to use my older Penn spinfisher reels without any modifications and have MONO on the spools. I still like fiberglass rods even thought 90% of my rods are graphite or graphite blends. Bucktail jigs catch a lot of fish and STILL work once the paint is chipped off. :) Live eels always seem to catch larger and more fish than any lures I have ever used. Don't get me wrong, I love using PowerPro and Fireline on the newer buttery smooth by Shimano, Daiwa & etc.
.

Penn is actually coming out with a reel to compete with VS ZB in the real near future. I talked to the guy on R&D about this at the CR show and said it should have all the features those above mentioned reels have but be about 200 bucks less. Lets hope so.

so that means 600 bucks?

didn't they say that about 2 or 3 years ago now?

Just received my 2nd Penn-Staal from Dave T. I have no complaints.

I think these Penn overhauls are so cool.But.......Those dam 704 drags...They are a drag!!

hey man... no hurt feelings or anything. i know im not gonna get the same quality as i would have gotten with buying a VS or a ZB, but like i said, i was looking for a close alternative for the money that i had saved thus far. after graduation and gifts (hopefully :happy:) im hoping i will have enough to grab a VS and put on my 1321M. that being said, i appreciate your comments though and respect criticisms :btu:

sweet reel Mike, i like it!

almost there man

2nd overhaul was a 706

It looks cool but the holes were designed orginaly to let the sand out. Thats why they got the nick name "cofee grinders".

I think it looks GREAT....and will definitely consider giving mine a face-lift in the future, .....:kewl:

However, based on why you say you did it....you'd have been better off putting that $200 bucks toward a future VS. The 704 would have still worked the same without the make-over,,, but I'm not your shrink..........AND... I still LIKE it......a LOT!......

I don't pack mine. A little grease on the handle shaft before you stick it in and a little more on the spool shaft. Then bed the side cover in grease. 3-1 motor oil in the body, not too much. Works for me. I use my rods as wading staffs enough so they are underwater, but I don't reel underwater.

i got very impatient up here at school with no reel to look at and decided to just pull the trigger early :gu: very bad excuse/ reasoning lol. but, oh well, make some dollars over the summer and get one for the fall run :bl:

nah, don't rush into further debt....be patient, keep life in order and enjoy your NEW 704 !
It's a reliable reel and with the new face lift, the fish will be fooled that you have a VS and will bite more often....:confused:

Happy :fishin:

Hey Mike, that's a sweet setup. As an old B*&^TD who has fished 704's and 06's for 40 years I can honestly say I love them. I had a VS 250 for 3 years. Great reel. Sold it and when back to my old standby 704 and don't regret it. VS are nice but 704's get the job done and "airation" can only help. Plus I took the $550 I sold the VS for and bought a dandy color Garmin GPS for the boat.

Do what I did to get your VS.......save your change. I saved change in a couple of old scotch tins for 2 years (think about it, if you can average just a dollar a day in spare change thats a VS in less than 2 years)....rolled it up and got a VS.....a lot better than taking that big of a hit to a budget.

I pretty much agree. I don't treat my 704z or 706z reels any differently than my VS200. I think I have a bit more confidence in the VS, but my first VS broke... had to be rebuilt. Never had that happen with the Penns.

I have a rod rack on the hood of my truck and when I drive into my yard there is a hose right there and I thoroughly rinse everything before I even walk up the steps. Having the reel rotor drilled is a great advantage when rinsing... it also allows a wave to pass through quickly and not leave a bunch of crap trapped. I do agree that too much drilling on a Penn does weaken it, but just enough to allow for flushing is an improvement and I don't think it weakens the rotor enough to have it be any more susceptible to failure than stock. Admittedly the drags aren't water proof, but so far it hasn't caused a problem. Packing with blue marine grease is what I do also.

As for weight saving... just not of any importance.

Also I use my Penns with Fireline 30lb and they spool the stuff fine.

Truth is, I only own a VS because I spent an hour or so with Steve McKenna and decided I had some reels I had bought very reasonably and if I sold them I could get enough cash to grab a VS200. I paid $550 for the VS NIB. I had about $325 into the reels and sold them for quite a bit more than I paid for the VS. So it made sense to give the VS a shot. Would I spend $650 to own one knowing that I have 3 706Zs and a converted 704Z that are all working great and doing everything I ask of them.... NOPE. I'm not saying they aren't worth it... just not worth it to me.

As for the ZB at $1000, well in the words of the great bowler, Jesus Quintana..."Laughable, man. Laughable." As I say, that's for me in my financial reality and my fishing habits.

Attachment 33321

Hi Ray - :wave:

Very well said all the way around - I just didn't want to be the first grumpy old phart to say it, that's all...I'm trying to rehabilitate my reputation as a cantankerous coot... :laughs:


Hey, good seeing ya around these parts - if ya get special dispensation from the boss and get a chance to get down this way, give me a shout - remember the place where the eels worked - well, they still work there last time I checked...;)


I dunno, Paul...you're making too much sense...obviously another old guy...:rotflmao:

Hey, Gunpowder - I don't think anyone's bustin' ya - that's a real sweet looking job on the Penn...:uhuh:

704's and 706's are like old M-1's - simple, bullet-proof and you can field strip them with a pocket knife if you have to - and I have

I always like to see Penns tricked out, always reminds me of old custom Harleys, American classics - I've got a dozen or so of them but one of my favorites is still the chromed 704 that was given to me by Habs, I'm getting it re-chromed for this season - got my personal best on it from shore so it's got some mojo on it -

If I can find the pix, I'll post them

Enjoy your Penn, man...:kewl:

Here's another tricked out 704 I thought was well done - looks like it was anodized

Chuck, that reel is beautiful.

BTW, hope to splash the boat Friday. Get ready brother!!

I'm locked and loaded, Paul...:ss:

You can't polish a turd.

I appreciate all your guys thoughts and comments, both for and against the use of the reel as a "some what dunkable" alternative to the VS. I knew when I put this here that everyone would agree it would look nice, but I was also hoping to receive input on other peoples experiences with how and if they performed any differently now drilled out and I am happy I got that information from both sides. I was gonna fish it either way :hihi: Some of you other guys have some really nice looking ones as well! Thanks for all the advice again. Cant wait to get out on the beach :soon:

Its like putting this M5 badge:

On a Yugo.:hee:


But hey by any means possible whatever gets it done for ya.