Thanks folks for the comments. Given the uncertainties, and that it's my first boat, I think I'll just bite the bullet and go with epoxy. Also, I'm using cypress (one of the difficulties of living in a country with few trees), and not knowing it's characteristics under epoxy on sealer, or epoxy on polyester, further inclines me to stick with epoxy. However, while epoxying, I'll try some
experiments along the way on spare strips.

- bruce

: I agree with Jay. Sanding sealer is a filled lacquer. Lacquer is that stuff
: that goes white when you put your beer on the coffee table without a
: coaster. Its not water friendly. It will compromise the wood/epoxy bond
: and you'll have just wasted your time and money. They don't call it the
: wood epoxy saturation technique for nothing. If you have to economize use
: polyester resin or luan. The boat may not last as long, but then you get
: to build another!