I would pay very close attention to weight . When building an airplane this is something you get very paranoid about. When building a boat it may not be that important but weight is a factor in the Cabin Skiff. Both speed and way it cuts through the water is different. In my opinion one of the reasons for this is the fact that I used white oak instead of mahogany.
White oak is very strong but it also is heavy.
Yes, it is readily available and relatively inexpensive. But I would make some changes. I would do some research and explore the relative strength of both white oak and mahogany. I am sure I could reduce the physical size most of the white oak components without comprising the over all integrity of the structure. For example I think I could probably reduce the beams that support the cabin top by half.