Any opinions on spanish cedar instead of western red?

I ask because I missed the boat on reduced price western red ( 1 x6 clear for $4.50 BF instead of $7 BF)The stockpile is gone. The only western red they have is 4 x 6 .

Next question- Can I start with that 4 x 6 and get strips? I've got access to good saws. Table and band with good vaccum system.

Thankfully you didn't buy the Spanish cedar. It lacks many characteristics that boat lumber needs such as weight and flexibility.

You can buy any dimension of lumber that is available. I used to buy 6" x 8" x20' long red cedar cants from BC. It just takes more work to get them down to size. Eventually you would want to end up with 1" x 4" or 1" by 6" boards to cut into strips. Be certain that the finished boards are flat grain so you end up with vertical grain strips. Ted Moores book explains that pretty well and there is at least one post on here that explains it.

Tom