It's plywood-on-frame vs stitch-and-glue with a handful of WEST (Wood Epoxy Saturation Technique) System thrown in.
Your kit is based on the plywood-on-frame building approach which developed from various plank-on-frame techniques which used mechanical fasteners (trunnels, screws, nails, etc.) to hold the planking onto the frame. As time passed, waterproof glue was added to the process and the mechanical fasteners became backups in case the glue failed. Even though the plywood plies are held together by glue, many people are uncomfortable with the idea of "only" glue holding something together. They may have a point, though, since at the plywood mills specialized equipment is used to assemble the sheets using glue formulations, heat, pressure and quality control that is impossible to match in a home garage/shop. As a result, many boat designs moved from solid planking to plywood but kept the fasteners even though they added glue. That's your kit's heritage.
The epoxy as glue is probably for several reason - it's more available and less demanding to apply than resorcinol-type glues and it has gap-filling properties. The resorcinol glues are similar to what the plywood mills use but can be mixed at home. However, they still need a lot of clamping pressure and are particular about their cure temperatures. Moder waterproof carpenters' glues, such as Titebond III, are very much easier (and safer) to use than resorcinols (or epoxy, for that matter) but they, too, require tight joinery and a fair amount of clamping pressure. First time home boatbuilders may not have the skills or tools to make high tolerance joints, so using thickened epoxy as glue is a good choice. It not only tolerates gaps, it actually works better with them.
So your kit is basically a traditional, painted plank-on-frame boat that has been updated to use plywood and a better glue. That's why you don't see any fiberglass or epoxy encapsulation.
I built something like that (a sabot dinghy) back in college and I have to completely agree with Bubblehead that coating the entire boat with epoxy will not only give you a better and longer-lasting paint job, it will make the boat last longer. My sabot only made it a couple of years before it rotted beyond the point of being worthwhile to repair, whereas my Brand X S&G dinghy is 14 years old and going strong.
Plywood-on-frame boats tend to start rotting at the inside chines where water gets into the joint and endgrain. The next most popular place is on the exterior chines. The sides and bottom ususally start later, unless something penetrates the paint. It also makes a big difference if you're sailing in salt or fresh water. Fresh water is hell on wood while salt water kills the rot organisms. Remember too that okoume has pretty poor rot resistance. That's why it's so important to seal it away from water.
With all this in mind, I would absolutely second Bubblehead;s recommendation to coat the entire boat in epoxy. If it was my boat I would also apply a layer of 6 oz glass to the bottom and run it 2 inches up the sides. This would protect the external bottom from abrasion and the outside of the chines from water intrusion. Inside, I'd paint on several coats of epoxy over the chines and chine joints and saturate the endgrain with epoxy before gluing. It's vital to keep the water, especially fresh water, out of there. Also, store the boat with the bottom up if you have to store it outside.
Finally, if you're really feeling ambitious and it's not too late, it's possible to do an S&G build of a plywood on frame boat. I did that with a Bolger Single-Handed Schooner some years back. It was designed as a plywood-on-frame boat. I replaced the chines with taped seams and glassed the boat inside and out. It ended up lighter and stronger.
Have fun with your build,
Laszlo