: 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 did you clean the vermouth off before applying the Varnish? This could be a major brake thru. Glad it worked out for you and that's a good piece of information. Thanks !

Rehd

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.