I've rowed both boats on most of the peninnsula rivers and can tell you there's a HUGE difference in the way the 16/54 Alumaweld and the 16/54 Willie handle compared to one another. Willie's is lighter, drafts less water and handles more responsively. I can row mine back upstream in current I could never row the Alumaweld.

I have no personal experience with Willie's 17-foot drifter, but I've been told it's considerably more difficult to row in the presence of any wind whatsoever, i.e., the bow is like a kite. There is plenty of room in the 16/54 and I'm not sure the extra foot of length would be worth the tradeoff.

Good luck.