I'll try to put this kindly, because I know there are a lot of Lavro owners out there. I'm not saying they're not a great boat, and I'm not saying Willie is any better. I'm simply going to state a fact. I spent about half a day with Ron at Lavro when I was building my wood boat a few years ago. Ron was very gracious to take me through the entire process of his design and manufacturing. The hull design of the Lavro is a bit antiquated and not as wide as most other boats out there. Width is critical and equates to ease of rowing, how high the boat sits in the water etc. Anyone who has rowed an older boat 48-50" width, then gets into a 54-60" wide boat can attest to this difference.