Originally Posted by
woodeneye
Believe me, you will enjoy the boat more if you build it light and you will thank yourself whenever you move it around and also when sailing. A light boat just sails so much better! The Spanish Cedar sounds ideal if readily available. As MIK says, it's a personal thing. I incorporated a lot of lightweight Paulownia in my boat, and it's proved to be a very strong boat, but importantly I can handle it on and off trailers and launch it by myself. If it weighed 10-15 kg more, I would find this difficult on my own. (Paulownia is lightweight and resists splitting) As long as you use a good quality epoxy and your joints are not "dry", your boat will have plenty of strength.
So my tip is to use dense timbers very sparingly and sensibly.
Cheers
Edit: BTW, what are your choices as far as ply is concerned? Can you get decent stuff there?