:: Varnish.
:: Curse all the flaws I see and the bugs that seek immortality mistaking my
:: varnish for amber.

: Get the first scratch early so the bugs don't bother you as much.

Get plenty of scratches - maybe you will only need to varnish the bits
that actually see the sun ! The pic shows the hull of my Cormorant
hybrid after 13 sea days (and a few short lake days). Because I haven't
got round to varnishing it yet (its only two months since launch:) I can
put more epoxy on the worst of these blemishes (the one which has gone
right through the six ounce glass below the chine, leaving the 4 oz glass
intact) without a whole lot of grief sanding off any varnish.

Well, I built her to go rock hopping, so scratches are inevitable -
especially rock hopping in a swell with six days' gear when she was
only ever meant to be a dayboat :-)

Andy