Once I got over any idea of trying to get the perfect finish on my boats I think I got it.

I prep carefully and then throw the varnish on very quickly. You can't lay the stuff on like latex paint. With latex they say you should put it on with one single brush stroke. You have a few minutes to work the heck out of varnish then you have to move to the next section. But in that few minutes you can aggressively brush it out it hard in any direction that will make it a consistent coating, then you smooth it out in the direction of the grain and move on. You will feel it more than see it sometimes, the dry spots you can even hear, the overly wet spots feel like yr dragging the brush thru honey or something. Even if the coating is a little bit heavy I think you get very few runs if it is very consistent. I found it harder to feel the varnish with foam brushes and still use a good brush which I hang in a can of thinner. The finish is never perfect anyway, unless you like the non-skid variety, but I haven't had to clean up many runs. Runs can be sanded out with 220 and a firm block but if your last coat you're kind of stuck.