Thanks for the timely post - I was thinking of posting something
similar myself. I've got Cunningham's book and Putz's book and
I think I'll go with the Cunningham design.
I've get the bending oak but like you I'm having a terrible time
finding long pieces of clear wood. From the response you've
received it sounds like the answer will be to scarf shorter
pieces. I'll have a look at Lowe's and see what they have.
Cunningham also calls for the gunwales to be 7/8" thick, but
he mentions that 3/4" is close enough. Finding 2-by lumber
is hard too, so I may just go with the 1-by.

What are you planning to use to cover it?

Chris