Forget all the math…
and technical terms…bottom line to me is that hull weight is entirely insignificant compared to hull shape when it comes to any kind of handling parameters you wish to consider. You gotta go by hull shape, not weight, to enhance any particular handling characteristic. And if the hull shapes are reasonably similar, I’d go with the lighter canoe EVERY time.
I think the boat is relavent
Many people paddle canoes from a kneeling position. When seated, the boat has a pretty pronounced ability to pivot beneath the paddler’s butt, and act quite independently of the paddler’s mass in its rolling motion. In that case, I’d say there’s some truth in what you say, that boats are boats. But for a kneeling paddler, the paddler has an extreme ability to make his own mass control the rolling action of the boat, to the point that I think the boat’s contribution to overall rolling inertia is slight. I’d say that if a person were to stand in the water and try to roll a canoe out from under the paddler and the paddler were not allowed to brace with the paddle, the person doing the rolling might notice a small amount of difference between a heavy boat and a light one for a seated paddler, but for a kneeling paddler, he’d have a much harder time rolling the boat in the first place, regardless of whether it was light or heavy.
I’m not trying to shoot down your premise, only modify it very strongly.
Hull shape
The article concerned the stability difference between identical hulls with different weights due to different layups. In this case, only the math is relevant - if you don’t like math, that’s fine, but you can’t say it’s not relevant.
Math is relevant - but not that much…
…and not “only”.
What matters most is the padder. Not reading the article right now, but I gather from above posts that the gist of it is that the heavier boat is more forgiving of a lack of finesse on the paddler’s part - and with that I would agree. You can’t take skill and conditioning out of the equation. The padder who is in tune with the lighter boat will see no advantage to the heavier one. And it takes time in the lighter boat to reach that level of conditioning and acquire that finesse.
All the same conditions apply, whether it’s boats, bikes, or butterflies.
Physics vs physique
Who kneels on a surfski?
Kneeling in the canoe makes the padder more important than the weight of the canoe.
feel
"So now our 1/3rd heavier boat should theoretically cut the rotational acceleration of the boat by roughly 1/3! With the rotational acceleration of the boat reduced (pitch, roll, and yaw rates slowed down), it’s easier for our bodies to react to the (now slower) changes in boat angle, and thus the boat will feel more stable."
But is feeling more stable the same thing as being more stable?
The heavier boat may require more force to accelerate at the same rate in any direction, but will also require more force to decelerate because of the greater inertia. A paddler may have more time to make a correction but may have to expend more effort.
A slower roll of greater amplitude may be more comfortable than a short quick roll, but it’s not necessarily more “seaworthy”.
“Canoe” and "too light"
do not belong in the same sentence.
As a petite woman with a 13 lb canoe, I can tell you it handles just fine both on and off the water.
bingo!
weight has nothing to do with stability.
An 8 lb Platt Monfort geodesic design is wonderful for FreeStyle. Secondary stability is all that counts.
There are no light boats…
In my opinion (worth what you paid me for it), the only canoe that is too light is one that blows off the roof rack before you can strap it down.
I have two boats that are under 30 lbs and also over 17’ long.
‘There are no light boats at the end of the day’ -Yetiman-
I love it…
The ordeal of not tying down the kite!
Well done sir!