Northern white is the prefered variety for boatbuilding but primarily for planking skiffs.
It is the primary skin on frame material in our shop as it has the highest rot resistance and a good strenght to weight ratio. Sitka spruce is our second choice but expensive and rot prone. If for no other reason, yellow can be found up to twenty feet in clear 2x4 here in Vancouver. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half as much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.