Custom American-Built Hybrid Pangas
The Ultimate Hybrid: Panga Versatility x American Craftsmanship
Versatile, efficient and seaworthy, the basic panga design is renowned worldwide for its capabilities as a coastal fishing and diving platform. Most pangas, though, are built outside the U.S. using outdated materials and methods and are very roughly finished, without liners or caps. They serve their purpose well, but typically lack the kind of storage, comfort, safety and fishing amenities that American boaters want.
Abaco’s panga hybrids are different, combining the strengths of the panga design with cutting edge materials and exceptional attention to detail and craft — all backed by a 10-year hull warranty. From our economical 14-foot skiff to our offshore-capable 22-foot hybrid, Abaco boats feature carefully crafted layouts that are equally well suited to a day at the sandbar or a day on the reef.
The Panga Advantage
The distinctive fiberglass skiffs known today as pangas originated around 1970 in either Mexico or Japan, depending on who you ask. The original design — intended as a practical, durable, and affordable platform for subsistence and commercial fishermen in developing countries — was roughly 22 feet long and 6 feet wide with a sharp entry forward, modest deadrise at the transom, and a graceful, sweeping sheerline rising to a high, flared bow. Over the next half century, countless variations on the basic panga theme appeared, but all of them shared the same key characteristics that made them the most widely used outboard-powered boats on the planet.
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Efficiency
Thanks to a relatively narrow beam and modest deadrise aft with a small concave pad, the panga design is extremely fuel efficient, requiring less horsepower than other boats of similar size. With a 150 hp four-stroke, the Bonefish 22 cruises in the low 30s at close to 6 mpg.
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Versatility
The panga design combines a high, flared bow to ride up and over chop and waves, with a relatively flat stern for shallow draft. The result is the kind of versatility that allows you to fish for red snapper on the reefs in the morning and red drum on the flats in the afternoon.
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Distinctive Lines
The panga design is a perfect example of form following function. Although the high, flared bow and sweeping sheer are practical design elements first and foremost, they also add up to graceful lines that instantly distinguish pangas from anything else on the water.
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Sarasota Boat Repair, Service & Rigging
In addition to building our line of custom panga-style skiffs, Abaco Marine provides a range of expert marine services at our Sarasota shop, including:
Fiberglass
Gelcoat, paint, nonskid
Ding and gouge repairs
Structural hull repairs
Fuel tank replacements
Custom fabrication
Rigging
Electronics installations
Full rewires
Repowers
Power-Poles, trim tabs, etc.
Bilge plumbing
Welding
Swim platforms/ ladders
Leaning posts
Tops and towers
Poling/casting platforms
Powdercoating
Upholstery
Boat covers
Console covers
Cushions
Tops
Foam flooring
There’s One Way to Find Out.
Is the hype about pangas’ great ride, backwater-to-bluewater versatility, and dollar-stretching fuel economy real? What about Abaco’s exceptional quality, fit and finish? Find out for yourself with a shop tour or sea trial! Let us know when we can show you how our boats and built and what they can do.