On my most recent boat, I took Rob's excellent advice and sealed the wood PRIOR to applying glass. I used MAS epoxy and thinned it a bit. I then spread the thinned mixture on the wood, late in the evening (with temps. FALLING!!), with a flexible plastic auto body "bondo" spreader. (Several companies sell similar items.) The flexible edge of the spreader made it MUCH easier for me to get a thin, even coat on the wood's surface. I didn't have to sand it and applied the next layer of glass/epoxy a day later...used less epoxy, had no glass "starvation" issues and life was generally better!

Have fun with your new project...it's a great learning experience.