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> What I'm wondering about, though is the feasibility of creating an inset
> in the Okoume. The woodcraft catalog suggests routing a groove 1/28"
> deep in wood for the inlays but I don't think their talking about doing
> that on 1/8" thick plywood. Has anyone tried anything like this?
Why even bother doing an inset into the plywood?
If you are using thin veneer, lay it out directly on the hull after the boat is finished.
First lay out a large section of "background" material which goes from seam to seam, covering the entire deck for a distance of about 3 feet (or more) from the cockpit. This material ends exactly at the sheer strip, gunwale, or deck/hull joint, disguising its existence, and surrounds the fancier inlay pattern you are planning. Cut through this layer of new veneer and inset your pattern into it -- and not into the okume plywood. The front edge of the "background" piece of veneer is sanded into a long taper, or feather edge so there is no bump where it meets the plywood of the deck
When the entire boat is glassed the slight additional thickness of the wood will be disguised perfectly, and the location of the fore and aft edges of the "background" veneer will appear to be scarf joints.
If you can get some okume veneer that matches your okume plywood the edges will certainly never be noticed, as they are quite a distance away from your inlay design.
You can try cutting through the "background" material with a sharp utility knife, and even do some (or all) of the inlay by using a sharp knife and working on a cutting board. Then glue the whole thing on the boat --re- assembling it like a jig-saw puzzle -- after it has been cut at your worktable.
If this seems a bit fragile, get a few yards of 3/4 ounce or 1 ounce fiberglass cloth or mat and glue the parts to this, tacking them into place with a few drops of epoxy. When you glue on the inlay this layer of glass cloth will ad a small and probably negligible amount of strength to your boat, This is certainly much better than the possibility of weakening it by routing the plywood.
Since the "background" piece should be the same thickness as the rest of the inlay pieces, sanding should be simple and quick.
I suggest using an inexpensive species for your "background" material as you will be buying a large piece of it. If you are thinking of making your won veneers in the 1/16th inch thickness, and have the plane, you can turn your leftover okume scraps into background or inlay materials by removing as much of the back layers as necessary to leave just the finished front layer in the proper thickness.
Hope this helps.
Paul G. Jacobson
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Guillemot Kayak - High
Performance Wooden Sea Kayak Designs
