I can give you several practical reasons for a light boat. Line up 6 boats that perform equally well...yet one is 20 pounds lighter. That's the one everybody will want to load, unload. The light boat will get used more than the others. And, notwithstanding the weight of equipment and paddler, the lighter boat will usually be more manouverable and easier to handle. Another reason I'm fixing to build a very light, very strong S&G is because of about 30 possible portages in the 262 mile Texas Water Safari next year. The strip built I'm just about finished with, at about 50 pounds, is going to be way too heavy for this old man with bad knees.