: Well since no one has answered. As soon as he Epoxy is hard I wouldn't
: hesitate to take it out. Of course you know not to wait to long on UV
: protection over that.

One of the reputable folks on here (Jay maybe?) advocates paddling the first season with no varnish, then varnish in the fall. That does three things, 1) gets you on the water quicker, 2) gives the epoxy time to fully cure, and 3) gives the varnish time to reach full cure before the next season. Some searches here should turn it up (though I've been having trouble finding things lately through the search function).

I think I'd want to give it a week or more for the epoxy to cure before I took my boat out. It may seem hard after 24 hours but it's still not very rigid and is really only partially cured. That epoxy is structural and the boat might flex more than you really want if it's not at least mostly cured. It will also scratch more easily.

Having said that, I got a coat of epoxy on my daughter's paddle late last night and we will be launching the wood-framed Sea Flea this weekend. However, the paddle is not so big a deal as a newly constructed kayak, and the epoxy on the paddle is primarily protection, not structure.

I'm sure others with more experience can offer a more specific answer, or perhaps debunk mine.

Cheers,
Bryan