You're in luck! I'm in the final stages of building a stripper, and have built a stripper using recycled poplar and mahogany (All the wood came from a compost facility in the second yak, dumpsters in the first).

Poplar:

Advantages: it's cheaper it's from faster growing specie then the woods commonly used it's from a specie that is sustainable (DON'T USE REDWOOD!!) it's makes a hard, tough-to-break hull and deck it's makes some awesome cove and beads it's produces a uniform colored surfaces it allows one to sand down the thickness to 3/16-inch (and less in places) without problems

Disadvatages it's harder to bend into complex curves it's harder to keep in those complex bends if you use Titebond II or Gorilla glue, the glue gaps are quite noticeable it's a lot harder to fair...I used 50- and 80-grain on a belt sander

Practical application Our first yak I surfed (yeah, like I was in control...) onto a rock reef near Maverick's. I managed to gouged the living hell out of the hull and cracked a seam, which neccesitated weeks of repair work, but it's good as new aside for the epoxy/silica fills under the glass.

Moral thoughts Big redwood is disappearing, and aside from stands that currently are protected, the rest should be turned into decks and fences within the next 15-20 years! Most species of cedar are not sustainable at current levels. Some species of pine are not sustainable at current levels. American Holly doesn't exist in America. ...I can go on...

Conclusion Poplar worked for us

Hope this helps, best to ya!

Tig and Tink