I'll concur with Bill and others on the Epiphanes. In addition to the J/30, I have a '64 Century Resorter, all carvel mahogany plank runabout. 18 coats of Epiphanes. It works well and has some of the best flow characteristics I've seen with varnish. Others may build up more quickly but if you sand between multiple coats, it develops a remarkable, glass-like finish with a durable, UV resistence that will last a long time IF maintained (as Bill explained).
BTW - I haven't taken on the interior on my J/30 but, I was recently looking at a refit done to a Swan 47 where they used the Epiphanes matte finish on top of multiple coats of gloss. Amazing. (if you stack multiple coats of matte, it ends up cloudy, I've been told.)
(and yes - I'm a "finish" junkie. ;-)
-Jeff
