The thread Mike referred to pretty much covers what we do. We use cypress because it was what was used, it was readily available and the old growth trees lasted almost forever. Best I can find out, folks used whatever trees were available, some of the most rot prone species won't last as well, but you'll likely take better care of the boat than was taken years ago. Lewis and Clark, in their trek through the northwest made dugouts out of cottonwood. So it's certainly doable - of course they weren't looking for a long term boat. If it's available to you, i'd try something like doug fir -think it would last longer.
As far as tools, you can see we did it with hand tools only. The old crosscut saws are available at flea markets, antique shops etc. - you can get a pretty good one around here for about $100. Then you have you learn how to sharpen it. Trying to use a dull saw (or any other dull tool will wear you out quickly). Same thing with the old foot adzes - they're available if you look around. The smaller adzes we had to make - learn blacksmithing or find a good blacksmith. We've built adzes from the leaf springs of a 1953 Chevy pickup and a claw hammer. Other old tools that we use - drawknives, spokeshaves, planes, hatchets, etc. are readily available. We do this a lot so we have a pretty good selection, but you can make do with a lot less. Necessity is the mother of invention.
AS i mentioned in the thread, we work the wood wet and manage water egress with oil to prevent cracking. Using oil pretty much excludes the use of sandpaper later on. Sanding an oiled piece of wood is like sanding a piece of bubble gum. Leave the inside a little rough so it won't be too slippery when it gets wet. With sharp tools you can get a very smooth exterior surface
The only other advice I can think of is to at least consider making a 1/2 or 1/3 scale model first, it's a lot less effort than wrestling a 14' cant and you'll learn some techniques that will benefit you on the larger scale
Anyway, good luck and don't hesitate to ask if you have any question and keep us posted on your progress
