hi derek, in reading the whole article it's clear that the writers direction is towards royalex. It weighs about the same as fiberglass,costs about the same,is more durable(resistant to impact) and lighter than alumuminum,which is the other durable canoe material he sites. Can't really take a guys preference for royalex as proof of expertise in multiple layups of woven smooth s glass,epoxy,etc. possibilities. For a dollar value royalex works very well. Hey,the more people paddling a good royalex canoe are people that will appreciate someone paddling their strip boat in real conditions.