Why don't you tell us a bit more about how and where you paddle so we can better address the cloth applications. Rocky bottoms? Surf? What design are you building?

I absolutely adore white cedar! Unfortunately for me, it's not a viable option at times financially. White cedar is easier to run compound curves, in my experience and it's very lightweight. Great colour variation, too.

That said, western red is also very nice to build with and many paddlers do indeed prefer its rich tonality. I built my Night Heron with a white cedar hull and a WRC deck. I'm working on a canoe that is entirely WRC but will have an accent stripe made of either white cedar or ash... depends on how cooperative the ash strips are!

BTW, welcome to the addictive world of wooden boat building