I used Epifane's and thinned the first coat 50% and it worked fine. You are going to always have a longer drying time on your first coat. I would thin it more than 10% or it will (in my opinion) take even longer to dry.

Are you in a humid climate? That might have something to do with it. Cold will affect the drying time considerably as well. It can even double it. Usually they have something on the can talking about temperature variations. Many of the really good varnishes are sensitive to temperature variations.

Just some thoughts. No worries. Varnish comes off!!! I screwed up my epoxy and had to sand it off. Now that's a mess. Good luck, and post pics when you're done.

-Malcolm