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Bruce,

I guess it is dependent on the look that you want. I have found that gloss marine varnish is not too slippery when wet, but satin finish marine varnish is slippery. In contrast, I found that the satin finish varnish that I used is not slippery.

Floor finishes come in various degrees of hardness. You can find the ratings by brand on the internet. The harder it is, the more resistant it is to abrasion. Floor varnishes seem to be much harder than marine varnish, such as Interlux #95. I would think multipart varnishes are harder, but they are more trouble to apply. There are also some very hard waterbased varnishes out there. One of them would be a good choice, but check the hardness of that brand because all waterbased varnishes are not the same.

I used Minwax brand semi-gloss floor varnish and I am pleased with the results. You can get it at Home Depot and it is much less expensive than marine varnishes. It doesn't have a UV filter in it, but I think that's OK for interior use. I applied it with a 3 inch foam brush and it levels perfectly. It is very liquid so you can only use it on a horizontal surface or it will run. It dries pretty fast but there was no problem keeping a wet edge. I applied three coats with a light sanding with 320 grit paper between coats. It comes in gallon cans so you need to pour some into another container when you are using it. Otherwise, if you use it from the gallon can it will skin over in the can before the next coat.

It has taken a lot of abuse over the last two years and it still looks perfect.

Gerry
Ragtime C42 #108
Annapolis, MD