Why wood?
Wood is an accessible and adaptable material. The boat can be as simple as a “six hour canoe” or as complicated as a Herreshoff daysailer. The material is still wood. It’s easily machined by basic, familiar tools. If the correct design is selected, the building process is accessible to any skill level. Usually, supplies are not impossible to find (depending upon design and location.)
Wood also makes an historical connection. Most of history’s boat have been built of wood. Anywhere people met the water there were boats, usually of wood. This allows you to make a cultural connection with just about any type of group- from African Americans in Washington D.C. to Scandinavian farmers in Minnesota.
Of course when they ask you if you built the boat from scratch, you can say that you tried scratch but wood works better.