| I am always on the lookout for inexpensive practical boats which would be good for in-shore fishing in the coastal waters of New England. I had never heard of the Panga boat before, but I was familiar with the type from news and travel footage of Somali Pirates and fishermen in developing nations. As the story goes, the Panga was developed by Yamaha Outboards on a grant from the World Bank in the 70's or the 80's (depending upon the source) for coastal fishermen in the developing world. By any measure the design is incredibly successful, and may be the most copied in the world, though certainly the Trawler, Junk, Sampan, Canoe, Garvey, Dory and Scow are similarly successful. What I find interesting about the boat is that the design is very clearly Japanese, the sheer-line and the elegant reverse curve of the bow is very distinctive, as is the wide, flared bow (almost shovel shaped when viewed from above). Especially in a small boat, the added buoyancy and flare in the bow is a big plus, contributing to a dry ride creating a nice stable casting platform for a fisherman in the bow. a feature which apparently was designed to facilitate pulling heavy throw nets into the boat. The low freeboard and the stable bow remind me of the Boston Whaler Montauk 17, which is why I think it would be a great boat for sight casting for stripers in New England. These boats are now being made in the US in Florida, by Panga Marine (another area where sightcasting in shallow water is very popular) Hat Tip To Microskiffs.com |