I used padauk and made spacered outwales on a NE Dory. It looks orange but finishes a nice purple when coated in epoxy. It is Pterocarpus soyauxii (scientific name)

Ash a traditional gunnel and thwart material because of it’s resilient, tough, and flexy properties. It is hard wood so if you’re doing much sculpting of shoulder recesses you’ll need very sharp tools. It’s also a bit heavy but is so strong you can thin it down considerably so that’s probably a wash. It also takes both epoxy and varnish well on bare wood and it's darn pretty.
Because of the Emerald Ash Borer it is getting harder to find good straight grained stock without worm holes in the East. You'll want clear straight grained stock for the gunnels, might take some looking.
   Just finished a non boat building project in Ash. Because it is so daggon hard I’m not likely to us it again for any project that requires much hand work.

Cheers,

e

   Thanks very much - I'll stick with trying to source some good straight grained Ash. Fortunately I am near several good timber merchants who will machine for me