Brian,

You are in desperate need of beer. Beer will serve a few purposes:

Beer makes everything look better.

It takes time to drink beer. Your varnish needs time to finish hardening. Give her a few weeks & try a fine finishing compound. Waiting a few weeks is important. Compound will make a mess out of fresh varnish. Beer makes waiting easier.

Beer may also make you see that perfection is in the paddling, not the looking.

Paddle her, scratch her up, and save the next coat of varnish for next year.