It makes sense to apply a coat of epoxy to any area that has the potential for high wear.

I'm planning on putting gunwales on a Ch 17LT, and have considered wrapping the deck glass over them, just epoxy and varnish on them, or maybe just varnish. But I think I will make them easy to remove and replace, and just use an oil finish that will be easy to renew and maintain as they accumulates dings.

Grant

Rub rails, I should have said, instead of gunwales. But we're talking about the same thing, aren't we?

Grant

well in  retrospect  i  would not  have  had   varnished  the gunwales on  my  eastport  pram  or  skerry.    even  with leathered  oars,    the  gunwale  top  gets  beat  up.  the  wood  oil  finish  sounds  good,  what  kind  of   oil  stands  up  to  water.  teak  oil ??