:Randy,

I used pieces of walnut for some knife handle blanks sold by my local woodworkers specialty shop as inlay on the Arctic Tern I built. I cut out one full layer of the mahogany ply, down to the first glue layer, then lightly saturated the newly exposed wood and allowed to cure. I then cut & fit numerous small inlay pieces of the walnut, as well as some pieces of mammoth tusk ivory I had laying around to make the design. These got set into the freshly epoxied cut-out area, and were left projecting about 1/16th of an inch above the surrounding mahogany. I then either used strapping tape (for the bow inlay) or clamps over wood & mylar film (for the coaming), and allowed them to set. Final sanding after that, addition of a filler epoxy coat, light sanding and then laid the top fiberglass cloth for the deck & coaming & did the saturation coats. The deck inlay was right near the bow, about 8 inches back from the tip, and the coaming inlay was centered on the lip with about 3/4" on either side. Very little chance for flex in either spot. I spent two weeks this summer paddling around San Diego harbor, and the boat sat out everyday (lots of temp fluctuation & ambient moisture.) No problems at all. No hint of separation between the glass cloth & the inlay. Go for it! The walnut goes nearly black under the epoxy, with the occassional red steak. Very nice look against the mahogany. Cheers, Chuck