As the end nears in the building phase, I find myself wanting to add non load bearing pieces of wood to the painted surface. Will the epoxy hold for these pieces or do I need to remove the fresh paint, or will scuffing it be sufficient?  Also for the foam under the seats, can the epoxy adhere to the varnish or does that also need to be removed. As I said these are nonload bearing pieces under no stress, Unless the boat is capsized and under water!

Thank you NYyaker for the idea about the oarlock blocks, I like the it. Hence my question from above.