Bajamas,
(First, congrats on your boat...i saw an earlier thread of yours inquiring about wire tranfers and overnight checks during the purchase process...you have obviously made a purchase!)
unless your time & availabilty is an issue, i don't think you 'need' to have a 'pro' or yard do your anti-fouling paint this first season...that is unless you intend that it be sprayed, in which i would agree, you should hire out- due to the health hazards and necessary equipment required...but...if your doing it by roller and brush...you are capable...do some homework, you may need to pressure spray and sand off all existing paint. Many paints won't bond to other paints so if you are unsure what is there, or if what is on isn't as effective in your waters, you have to take the current stuff off by getting down to the gelcoat (assuming she is glass) in order to get the paint you want on to stay put and be effective.
...i think with some local networking you can figure out what you'll need based on your area waters & the type of boating you are doing ....and by doing it yourself you'll save some $$ and all the while you will get to know your new hull & locate your transducers (which require a special anti-fouling paint)
I believe, as a general rule, and i think most will agree, ablative paint is used more by sailboat cruisers while hard epoxy's are used by those who race. The reason is that in many cases ablative paints allow you to go multiple years with out redoing your hull while hard epoxy's require annual work...the hard epoxy's give your hull less drag...squeezing out that extra 1/10th of a knot to hopefully win your regatta...yet i do know some cruisers who do use the hard epoxy's...a glutten for punishment..??... personally, as a cruiser, i will stick with the ablative on my boat.
oh yes, one more item...you may look into interlux's interprotect 2000E...this is a barrier coat (mentioned earlier by phorvati) you can apply this between your gelcoat and anti-fouling paint. I have talked with boaters who have said if you put 4-6 coats of this on prior to your bottem paint you may be able to go at least 3 seasons without redoing your bottem...in some cases, depending on enviornment, up to 6 seasons! This stuff is suppose to last forever too...so, in 3-6 years, when you finally haul your boat out again to do new anti-fouling paint, make sure you tell the yard not to pressure spray down to the gel coat...just to spray lightly to get the old anti-fouling paint off...you want to keep this barrier coat that is underneath the old layer of bottem paint on your hull. Then you can just do a light sanding prior to your new ablative bottem paint to insure a bond.
For a crusier who is okay losing that 1/10th of a knot, ablative seems to be the best way to go ...through my eyes anyhow.
Best of luck...
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