Penn Yan was variable on whether they included the year in the serial number. While typically it was only included on boats built in the second half of a decade, yours appears to have the date included and would likely have been built 1954. The "GE" portion of the serial number tells us it is an 18' Guide model. The "395" indicates (probably) that it was the 395th built that year.
See attached catalog page from 1954.