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Panga boat Pro Open noir et blanc - Panga Ferret

Who was the first to invent the boat?

THE HISTORY OF PANGA BOAT

The panga was simple no interior floor, no cockpit, no foreign cutie marks but it had maneuverability and capability.
But the boat could handle the angry sea. It was, after all, a panga.

old Panga boat - Panga Ferret

It all happened in the late 1960s...
The original panga design was said to have been developed by Yamaha as part of a World Bank project around 1970, but there are some discrepancies as to who originally designed these incredibly capable boats. The Panga is a modestly sized, open, outboard-powered type of fishing vessel common in much of the developing world, including Central America, the Caribbean, parts of Africa, Middle East and much of Asia.


Panga boats are commonly operated directly off beaches and the name comes from the panga fish, which is commonly netted. The upswept bow of the boat resembles the machete, or knife called a panga.

The main design features of the panga are a high bow, a narrow waterline beam, a delta-shaped running surface, and a waterline bulge along the gunwale, or upper edge of the hull. The high bow provides buoyancy to retrieve heavy nets and minimizes spray coming over the bow. The narrow beam allows the hull to be propelled by a modest outboard motor.

 

The waterline bulge along the gunwale provides increased stability at high roll angles and the delta-shaped hull allows the boat to lift and achieve greater fuel economy.

The original Yamaha panga design was 6-7m in length and a waterline beam of approximately 5ft 6in. The waterline bulge at the gunwale increased the overall beam to about 6ft 6in. The Panga Ferrets are a bit wider to provide more stability and more deck space.
 

For more information on the origin of panga boats :

www.boatingmag.com/boats/history-panga/

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