This past week we were constructing the inwales for our Redbird. We scuppered them by adding 3/8" inserts (as per Michne) and wanted the inwales tapered to 3/8" at the stems. This created a concern on bending such a thin piece of wood.
Our solution, which worked well, was to glue the tapered inside inwale to the 3/8" thick spacer with Gorilla glue, steam for 20 minutes, then bend. It worked like a charm. We had first tested the method on similar strips and when we tried to break the joint we failed - the wood broke, not the joint.
Just thought I would be of some use to other builders.