Penn #309 Repair/Parts

[Canuck50]

I have a Penn #309 and the handle shaft has a wobble when it is turned or stationary. I am in Chumphon area. Does anyone know of a shop in Thailand that would repair this reel or supply the parts for me to repair it myself? I doubt there is anything local to me but am heading to BKK next week and a trip to Phuket is always possible too. Suggestions greatly appreciated!

[impulse]

I can't help you with repairs or parts in Thailand.

But here are some great resources if you need schematics to figure out how to put it back together if you dig into it yourself...

http://www.reelschematic.com/schematics/Penn/Conventional/309.jpg

http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/schematics/

http://www.southwesternparts.com/

You have to drill down a little on the last 2 sites, but they have an amazing collection.

Post back if you do find reel repairs in Thailand. I see lots of places that carry the ubiquitous parts (handles, spools, etc), but so far I have't had to hunt down any specialty parts. Knock wood.

[tingtongfarang]

I had a pen 309 years ago, parts are available to order on the internet and they are such a simple real to diss-reasemble,

iI could never get the drag to run smooth regardless of which drag plates or grease.

[Canuck50]

Thanks for the replies. I went to 7 Seas Pro Shop and they told me there is no repair or parts available for Penn reels in Thailand. As they sell new Penn reels, I asked what they do if one needs repair and was told they sent it to the Penn office in Thailand who forward it to USA. Sounds like a long wait time to me! With such poor local service it makes me wonder why anyone would buy a Penn reel here...certainly not me!

[impulse]

Thanks for the replies. I went to 7 Seas Pro Shop and they told me there is no repair or parts available for Penn reels in Thailand. As they sell new Penn reels, I asked what they do if one needs repair and was told they sent it to the Penn office in Thailand who forward it to USA. Sounds like a long wait time to me! With such poor local service it makes me wonder why anyone would buy a Penn reel here...certainly not me!

As always in Asia, don't trust anyone that says "you can't find it in this country". What they really mean is "I don't think we carry it, and wouldn't you rather buy what we do have?"

Have you tried the fishing shops near BTS Wong Wian Yai? One of them has a pegboard of plastic bagged reel parts as you walk in the door. I never paid attention to what parts they have, though. If I make it past in the near future, I'll post back.

The company that bought Penn has thrashed the brand. It used to be even the lowest priced Penn was a quality piece of equipment- albeit with lower level of finish and less bells and whistles. And they'd last forever because you could always find parts.

Nowadays, it's mostly Chinese made and pretty much disposable. That said, I doubt any reel manufacturer has good local service here- just too many part numbers to carry for the small volume of fishing gear sold in country. But I'd love to have someone show me the error in that statement.

[mogandave]

pennparts.com in the US has most everything that is still available and I think they ship international.

[Canuck50]

pennparts.com in the US has most everything that is still available and I think they ship international.

OK, I'll look into that...thanks!

[jaidam]

pennparts.com in the US has most everything that is still available and I think they ship international.

OK, I'll look into that...thanks!

Did you have any luck getting your 309 back into shape yet?

I have experience with the problem you describe. Usually you can fix your loose/ wobbly handle by putting a shim under the gear sleeve. You must remove the gear sleeve by pushing out the retianing pin then the sleeve just lifts off the post. Use carbonfiber drag washer material its fine, otherwise cut a small washer from tough plastic such as 5 liter oil container. Thickness of the washer you make determines the amount of "play" in the sleeve and ultimately the handle.

[jaidam]

I had a pen 309 years ago, parts are available to order on the internet and they are such a simple real to diss-reasemble,

iI could never get the drag to run smooth regardless of which drag plates or grease.

Have you tried making some leather drag washers? I do that when run into trouble with a star drag system. Costs almost nothing to make, and they are very forgiving, smooth as you like with very good braking power, even when the metal washers look tired. Using some quality grease like superlube to soak in to the leather and protect from water contamination they are impressive. Bit more effort to remember to back off the brake pressure when you finish fishing but I have a 49 with leather drag I made over a year ago and used the reel very heavily and it's still fine.

[huuwi]

If you come to phuket just go to ocean sport at chaofa east near flintstone bakery.

Best reel service in town.

[adn57]

The usual suspect is part # 3 - the bridge + sleeve

http://www.reelschematic.com/schematics/Penn/Conventional/309.jpg

I've replaced many over the years in the Senator series of Penn's .... they do wear out ..

many folks are heavy handed , too excited maybe : )

they put outwards or inwards pressure pulling and/or pushing the reel handle when reeling .. this accelerates the problem of wearing out the bridge ..... the sleeve usually wears out before the shaft .. the sleeve is bronze and threaded ... hard to have one made at the local machine shop .

reeling motion should be a smooth rotational action no outward or inward pressure ...

the problem can be jerry-rigged temporarily with home made washers under the gear , it's a short term fix .....