Tom,

I have been making molded coamings with no steam for Yost SOF kayaks.
Basically I make a mold similar to Rob Mack's directions for a Laughing Loon.
In order to bend the wood dry it has to be cut to about 3/32" thickness (throws away lots of wood in the cutting)
Then I laminate ~2 1/4 wide and deep block to the shape of your cutout.
Now I am going to hear a lot of loud cries of No, No, No. (for lots of good reasons)
Next step is to cut the lamination into 1/4' thick plys in the opposite direction to the original lamination. This step is necessary to allow the wood to bend in a vertical direction (to the boat) to follow the boat contour.
I then laminate in place on the boat (so it will fit right) with a separator sheet on the boat (packing tape).
Remove the rim, shape to give a lip and finish the sanding to get the smoothness you want.
When I put these on I screw them to a base (made the same way at the same time). But you might want a permanent install so you could bond it down.

Looking over that and knowing how much work is involved you might take less time and material just gluing up the small vertical bits.

Or go to yostwerks.com and make a plywood ring based cockpit rim. Much less attractive in my opinion than either option above, still takes a lots of material and lots of sanding, but undoubtedly quicker.

If you would like some pictures after imagining all the work I talked about, let me know. On the SOF boat the rim represents about 40% of the epoxy and 40% of the wood used. Lots of waste. But I like the shape and look of the finished product. On my painted skin on frame it is the only thing that really stands out.

OBTW, a keel will not improve stability on your boat.