Hi Sean, I used clear Douglas Fir (pine) on this boat it worked fine except a little hard to bend but I was fortunate to have few bends . I read somewhere on this forum to put white wood and also harder wood on the bottom, the reason was white wood doesen't show scratches like darker wood and the harder wood was better for hard bangs
and rocks. I would keep my strips thinner than a 1/4" and narrower than 3/4".I envy you starting a new build wish I could, Have lot's of fun and good luck Nick R.