"Ervin Charles" wrote...
I've read and heard advice on two different ways of doing this and
I'm asking your guidance and/or opinions. Should I first coat the deck with
Epoxy and then Varnish or should I omit the Epoxy altogether? The craft will
be kept under a roof 98% of the time and weather exposure should not be a
serious concern. I know epoxy gets a chalky look to it with heavy UV
exposure and I'm thinking that if it ever gets like that, I'll have a hell
of a time getting it off.

If under a roof and several coats of varnish, the epoxy will be protected from
UV and will not likely turn chalky in your lifetime.

I'm not an expert by any means, but have a home-built kayak that is finished
with Z-Spar Flagship varnish over System 3 epoxy, and an Adirondack Guideboat
with decks finished with Z-Spar Captain varnish over System 3. The kayak is 4
years old, the guideboat new last fall.

Epoxy makes a wonderful base for the varnish, as well as protecting the wood --
System 3's Epoxy Book verifies this opinion. Over the bare wood (cherry) on the
guideboat, I used 2 coats of epoxy followed by 4 coats of varnish. The epoxy
base gives you a deeper-looking gloss (IMO) than if you used another 2 coats of
varnish for the base, and gives a bit more durability to the surface.

On the kayak, which has a layer of 6 oz glass over okume, I merely refresh the
varnish with 2 coats every spring.