I don't know if tipping varnish is a good idea in my experience. Once a coat has been flowed on into the previous wet edge (key word is "flowed" and not brushed) it should be left alone. Surface bubbles in epoxy can be removed by going over with a hair dryer on low setting but I don't think you would want to stir up the air that much with varnish.  Maybe a puff of breath would help?  If you have a really clean area where you are varnishing maybe a pass with a dryer might help.  You could try it on a scrap of wood. 

Maybe thin the varnish?

Laszlo

   Bubbles...pesky little bubbles. Varnish sure is a tricky substance. Sounds pretty easy but is definately hard to be friends with. If you have put the previous coats on in less than a weeks time, try letting the varnish cure and dry out for a few days, maybe even a week if you can stand it. Wet sand it with 400 and clean and wipe down with your solvent of choice, mine is denatured alcohol. Let the solvent completely dry/evaporate before you apply the varnish. Cutting it at about 5-10% has gotten me pretty good results. Good Luck!

   apply strong light from a low angle to the boat during varnish and you'll see the pesky bubbles to be tipped out....................better.

  Thank you for the feedback. I like these suggestions and will try once again to get it right (if not, just admire the spars from afar, ahm, ahm). I'll thin the varnish and be very careful. I also read some guides online as to the correct temperature, humidity, etc, and now that 90 degree summer days are only a memory here in Nashville, temperature control in my garage is more feasible.

- Craig

You read about how high-gloss varnish (and paint) really highlight all the imperfections in the wood or epoxy. Wow, they weren't kidding. It's incredible. I thought the wood was perfectly sanded, and to be honest it does look very smooth, but the smallest mark that wasn't even visible before can be seen. Perfection is hard! haha.

   I've just finished varnishing the transom of my Pocketship and it turned out far better than the spars. The temperature is lower (55 degrees) and I used a foam brush instead of a china bristle brush. Everything I've read says that china bristle is the way to go, but for me it just introduced bubbles. The foam brush introduced bubbles only when I pressed down hard with it. As long as I only dipped the tip into the varnish and took my time lightly spreading it out, the surface was very smooth with very few bubbles. I didn't need to "tip" it out either, and found that going over with a dry/dryer brush just made it rough.  I was prepared to thin the varnish but in the end didn't need to. Holding a bright light at an angle next to the wood is very helpful to reveal imperfections, too. Hope this helps somebody!

Has anyone thinned the varnish and wiped it on? Some of the old masters of furniture building used the wipe on method. I built a beautiful bar some years back and thinned the varnish and used a lint free rag to apply. It may take 2 or 3 times the coats, but, easy to apply and NO BUBBLES and a rubbed finish. I think I put 12 coats on my bar with a 3m pad in between coats. Very user friendly. I'm building a Peeler and may try it on my bright work.   

I had the Yamaha dealer mount the motor, so I didn't have the opportunity to line the bolt holes with epoxy.  The dealer knew what he was doing and the plates and bolts are thoroughly bedded in silicone caulk.

The 9.9 hp Yamaha was a good choice.  I use my Peeler in saltwater and don't have too much enthusiasm for planing from wave crest to wave crest.  She moves right along with 4 adults and their gear without beating us to death.  I couldn't be more pleased with the boat.
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I had the Yamaha dealer mount the motor, so I didn't have the opportunity to line the bolt holes with epoxy.  The dealer knew what he was doing and the plates and bolts are thoroughly bedded in silicone caulk.

The 9.9 hp Yamaha was a good choice.  I use my Peeler in saltwater and don't have too much enthusiasm for planing from wave crest to wave crest.  She moves right along with 4 adults and their gear without beating us to death.  I couldn't be more pleased with the boat.http://www.testking.net/testking-NS0-155.htm