what design/fitout makes a good boat

[jack]

i thought this may be a good general subject

what design features do you look for in a panga/wasen/longboat/and many other local names

without getting into individual brands, what makes it a good boat for you

[skytrash]

Rod holders are nice accessory ! (hah)

Walt

[arlon]

Jack plate of some sort for an outboard.
Keeping it simple. Rinse and forget..
Livewell/leaning post
extra rigging tubes fore and aft.
Simple console with a removeable cooler front seat.
Anchor locker
Access for adding rod holders
REAL SCUPPERS

[skytrash]

Put some fishing poles in the rod holders with bait deployed and a cold beverage in hand. I'm good to go! Hopefully the fish will crash the party =) A radio with a football game broadcast on it would be just about perfect.

Walt

[fishmor]

A safe boat-one that won't sink- dry-smooth riding open and useful. For 40 years all my boats but two had the steering wheel up front and the two exceptions were center consoles. I've only had one boat that came with the steering wheel in the front-the rest of them I had to put it up there myself. That way you set in one place, stop, fish, run the trolling motor all with out getting up and moving. To me a cooler seat in a boat is an abomination. To fish out of it you have to sit sideways. Do you eat at your table sitting sideways? Watch TV? We don't do anything sideways except when we fish out of a boat with a fastened down cooler seat. Actually I don't fasten down any of my seats that way I can easily move them to where I want them. I've even had two boats where the console wasn't fastened down, when I stopped I would shove them over to the side and have lots of room. I haven't had the opportunity to try a panga but it seems to me to be just what I am looking for and if I do get one I will put the steering wheel on a small console mounted on the back of the front deck.