hi BriC, 

i know how you feel.  refinishing every year is not something folks like to do...so a good question...what do you do between refinishing.

i would start by saying the most important thing is to deal with anything that was deep enough to cut through the wood (becuase it will quickly get damaged if it gets wet), followed by dealing with anything that got through the paint or varnish (because now you won't have UV protection....which can degrade the glass) and then there is everything else.

so if there is anything that hit the wood, i sand it a bit and throw on a couple coats of epoxy....and then paint or varnish over that....and i basically do the best i can....but i am not trying to repaint or revarnish the whole boat.    a couple steps back.....and you usually don't see it.

if its just the paint or varnish down to the epoxy...and the epoxy is fine...same process....sand it a bit and touch it up as neatly as you can to make sure the epoxy continues to get UV protection.

other things i do just in general....i always make sure i put the boat away dry....and when done, for me, i keep it in the garage and out of the sun.   i have my wifes boat going on 20 years now...and only been totally refinished twice.