I actually skipped painting the inside on the two Chessies that I built-  my reasoning was that the cockpit does not get that much sun with someone in it or stored upside down, I like the look of the wood, and most importantly, I wanted to be able to see what was going on with the wood over time.  I have not had any any problems in 10 years with the epoxy degrading.

JP

I have a West River 18 that's over 12 years old (can't remember exactly when I built it) and didn't varnish the cockpit. I live in Florida where the sun can take it's toll, the outside is perfect with the original varnish, the cockpit is starting to show some sun damage. I'll sand it down, probably do a bit more epoxy then varnish it. I would suggest varnishing it at some point. Might as well do it now.

George K

   I had some good paint laying around, so painted the bottom of my cockpit, to just above the fillets. (I'm not a fan of exposed, muddy colored fillets, and the white paint makes it easy to see if I've got all the mud/sand out.)

I have had good luck with Rustoleum Topside enamal.  It seems to be harder and more abrasion resistant than Interlux Brightside. At $12.00 a quart from Lowes it is also cheaper.