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Hello, long time viewer, first time poster. I have a 22' Panga made by Panga Marine. I do not want to go with trim tabs, but wanted to see if anyone has had success with lower unit Dol Fin type products. The boat wants to porpoise at speed when there is little or no weight in the bow.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
I have a 22 Tortuga/Andros (similar hull) and just ordered tabs for it. It has the fin on it, but you have little control with just that. Also, tabs give you side to side trim capability....something I feel is a big plus with the narrow beam of the panga.
A panga will ride level unless its overpowered, or the motor is sitting at the wrong height or angle, or all the weight is in the back.
Fins do help to compensate for these errors, but fixing the cause of this problem first will get you a better overall ride, more speed and economy because the tabs and trim tabs both use misdirected energy from your motor to compensate for these problems instead of directing 90% of the total propulsion parrallel to the surface of the water, and are of no help when going slow.
But tabs do help to bring the bow down, but can cost you up to 20% on speed and fuel economy.
Thanks for the replies. The boat rides perfect when I have a large fish box full of ice in the bow. I read in a Florida Sportsman article a while back about a guy in the Keys with my same hull & problem. He used a fin on his lower unit with great results, I just can't remember the brand name. I'm trying not to go the trim tab route because one of the main reasons I bought a Panga was to have a simple fishing platform without much to break.
If the cooler full of ice does the trick , go with it !!.....Pack beverages, and lunch in the cooler, or just keep it there for the fish that you'll catch !!..... There's a lot of room in the front of a Panga ...You could even mount it there permanently and use it for another seat !!.... It would probably cost you the same as a fin for the engine ...Jim
Probably a ridiculous question, but are you positive that your engine is tilting all the way to where its near vertical in the water? I didnt see if you mentioned what motor, but some of them have tilt stops or motor supports brackets that could prevent you from trimming as far forward as intended, under some circumstances.
I just did a sea trial on a Panga down in Florida- the boat was rigged with a 115 E-Tec and it ran like a dream.
We had two of us ( each about 6' 200lbs) at the helm, no weight in the front and were running around 40mph without any porpoising whatsoever.
Needless to say I ordered one for use in the south shore bays here on Long Island.
I just did a sea trial on a Panga 22 LX down in Florida- the boat was rigged with a 115 E-Tec and it ran like a dream.
We had two of us ( each about 6' 200lbs) at the helm, no weight in the front and were running around 40mph without any porpoising whatsoever.
Needless to say I ordered one for use in the south shore bays here on Long Island.
cool Congratulations. So....what do you think my new 22.5 Andros Permit panga should do with tabs, jackplate, and a 150 hp. 2 stroke? ( it hasnt been delivered yet)
cool Congratulations. So....what do you think my new 22.5 Andros Permit panga should do with tabs, jackplate, and a 150 hp. 2 stroke? ( it hasnt been delivered yet)
That boat is gonna do over 40 easy. Bet your excited.
Excited? hell yeah! I am going to go down to the customs dock today and peer thru the fence at it. Should be able to 'bail" it out of Customs tomorrow ( pay my 11% import duty), pay off the shipping people ( Should be around $800-1000), hook er up to the Expedition, stop by the local boat shop for some anchors, lines, fenders, and a fire extinguisher, and hopefully get her in the water. Where I intend to blast around grinning til my face hurts. Even got a couple brandy new Penn Senator setups (recommended by THT, I might add) that I suspect will be wet by Tuesday morning.
After I stay up all night reading manuals, of course...
And looking for an amplifier and couple good speakers and a watertight aux input jack....I am gonna go cruising thru local marina blaring Charlie Daniels, or maybe Lyle's "Thats Right (You're not from Texas)"....I been listening to Bob Marley for a year and a friggen half now!!!
I have a 115 Yamaha 2 stroke on a jack plate, so I can adjust my engine's ride height & angle pretty well - I think my problem is weight distribution. Ideally moving my console & leaning post/live well forward would be the best solution, but I have the older hull with saddle tanks and its already a tight fit between around the front of the console. Also the distance I could move it is limited as there is a sorry excuse for a built in cooler in the middle of the '04 model's floor.
I'm going to try the fin first, I'll let you guys know the results.
Congrats on your Panga Gringo and thanks to the rest of you.
think you will find the saddle tanks were the early imports...i havent seen one so i can only say in general
as has been said..
check that you have full motor trim travel..for when you are running light
load you boat to weight amidships or slightly more forward
it is a load/weight balance thing..not a hull design fault
aim to get the cg/balance point at about 60-70% from bow
is the tank down the back of the boat? can it be moved if it is?
I think a lot of it is caused by the engine weight. Adding a jack plate with any offset just compounds that. They where designed for light 3cyl. 2-stroke engines. Put the heavier 2-4 strokes and the combination of weight and additional speed just drives the hull beyond it's intended design. Fortunately it's a pretty easy fix with tabs or ballast. My pangler with the diesel would porpose in a light chop if the tabs where all the way up. It was very light in the nose too but that's the way they are supposed to be. Lets the bow ride up over some pretty decent waves without burrying the nose. I don't think they where desiged to run 50mph though. Be interested to hear how Gringos new Permit does with that 150.. Arlon
Excited? hell yeah! I am going to go down to the customs dock today and peer thru the fence at it. Should be able to 'bail" it out of Customs tomorrow ( pay my 11% import duty), pay off the shipping people ( Should be around $800-1000), hook er up to the Expedition, stop by the local boat shop for some anchors, lines, fenders, and a fire extinguisher, and hopefully get her in the water. Where I intend to blast around grinning til my face hurts. Even got a couple brandy new Penn Senator setups (recommended by THT, I might add) that I suspect will be wet by Tuesday morning.
After I stay up all night reading manuals, of course...
And looking for an amplifier and couple good speakers and a watertight aux input jack....I am gonna go cruising thru local marina blaring Charlie Daniels, or maybe Lyle's "Thats Right (You're not from Texas)"....I been listening to Bob Marley for a year and a friggen half now!!!
22' Panga Question 
