Day 15, Skin-on-frame rower-sailer

Day 15) Skin-on-frame row/sail canoe. 1 hr.
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Started the long, toxic, expensive, annoying process of varnishing all the bits. Generally speaking I’m fanatically anti-brightwork for all the reasons I just listed, and on anything but a row/sailboat I just slap a few coats of pine tar/tung oil mix on whatever needs it and feel better about adding a little less toxic crud to the world.
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I literally can’t think of a way to avoid epoxy and/or varnish in a row/sailer though. You could oil the spars and seats and whatnot, but that still leaves the inside of the dagger trunk, and you’d be a madman not to varnish a nice set of ash or spruce oars, at which point it just makes sense to do many of the small bits.
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I’m all over the map on what I’ve used for varnish in the past, oil based, water based, cheap and expensive. I’m trying Epiphanes Rapid Clear on the advice of an experienced real wooden boat builder. What do you use on the pretty bits? How many coats?
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Day 15, Skin-on-frame rower-sailer. Build time: 1 hr.

Started the long, toxic, expensive, annoying process of varnishing all the bits. Generally speaking I’m fanatically anti-brightwork for all the reasons I just listed, and on anything but a row/sailboat I just slap a few coats of pine tar/tung oil mix on whatever needs it and feel better about adding a little less toxic crud to the world.

I literally can’t think of a way to avoid epoxy and/or varnish in a row/sailer though. You could oil the spars and seats and whatnot, but that still leaves the inside of the dagger trunk, and you’d be a madman not to varnish a nice set of ash or spruce oars, at which point it just makes sense to do many of the small bits.

I’m all over the map on what I’ve used for varnish in the past, oil based, water based, cheap and expensive. I’m trying Epiphanes Rapid Clear on the advice of an experienced real wooden boat builder. What do you use on the pretty bits? How many coats?