I built an Arctic Tern last summer (which I love with all my heart. Really. I'm not sure my feeling towards that boat are either healthy or natural). I was anxious to get it into the water so I decided to slap a quick coat of varnish on it before I got too crazy with the sanding, and I'd come back to the problem over the course of the winter when I had more time. The varnish took forever to dry - over a week. The boat building experts I consulted said the epoxy might have been too fresh, or not mixed exactly right, and the off-gassing was interfering with the drying.

I finished my new workshop about a week ago, I sanded the boat, revarnished, and the damn stuff still wouldn't dry!! Instead of talking to boat people this time I talked to paint people who quickly explained to me that varnish is an alkyd, it has dryers in it which can get old, and which like to settle to the bottom of the can.

I washed all the gooey half set varnish off the hull with varsol, wiped it clean, let it dry, reapplied fresh varnish - stirred, not shaken (I practised with a martini before I started), and it looks like the varnish is actually drying in real time this time around.

So if your varnish is tacky - add some dryer. If your home is tacky, lose those paintings you bough in Vegas.