Ive used a lot of fir, mostly from recycled buildings though. It's a little heavier than I'd like but otherwise quite nice. I like the look of it, kind of yellow-ish. I'd suspect, at least as far as fir goes, that anything at Home Depot and the likes is second growth and will not have the tight growth rings that make it stronger and lighter. It will tend to break easier than old-growth.

Pine would probably be good, but I havent worked with it much. One thing you might look for is a building recycle outlet, where you will find good fir and cedar at reasonable prices. I know here in Portland there is at least one outfit that specializes in tearing out old buildings and reselling everything they can, and often you can find flooring or siding to be resawn. Also, I happend upon a whole lot of CVG old-growth redwood in a nickel-ads last year and snapped up enough for several boats for $60.00. That's why all my boats are redwood and fir...

: My local home furnishing store carries some cedar, but the boards don't look
: very good. I can get poplar, douglas fir, aspen, pine(yellow), and what
: they have listed as white wood(?). All these look good and seem to be
: priced O.K. Does any one know anything about the white wood and if it can
: be stained for contrast and how well it will bend. I live in metro Atlanta
: and have been unable to find a good source of wood. I'm looking at
: building my first boat and don't want to spend a fortune on wood until I'm
: comfortable with my skills.the tools needed for cutting my own strips are
: readily available so thats not a problem.