Since you will likely be doing more work on the boat, I should expande on this.
Penetrating epoxy is a great way to repair/protect exterior wood, before you varnish it. Epoxy yellows over time from UV, but a layer of epoxy, with some top coats of varnish you get the varnish look with much better durability.
Some people use Cetol, other use varnish, but the epoxy + varnish method works well. Especially good for heavy wear areas like the companionway threshold. + trim, and the hatch slider rails.
The only drawback for brightwork use is that once it soaks in, there is no simply sanding it off.