I touched base with Matt at Pro Marine Supplies, traded an email or two, then today gave him a call about bottom paint. After some discussion about my specific needs for the paint, he suggested Petit Vivid bottom coat, it's an epoxy type bottom paint that does have some ablative properties and should hold up well for my uses of the boat. We discussed all the ups and downs of different paints and coatings including gelcoat and came up with this as the better option for my needs 
. Those needs were:
1. It's white
2. It should last a few years
3. It shouldn't turn color as some paints will after being in the water a while.
4. Should hold up to the trailering well.
He had some good points and a bunch of good knowledge of the different coatings being used out there. 
So I ordered 1 gallon of white paint and 2 prime kits, both from Petit and they will be shipping them to NC. 
I will report on my rebuild page and probably start one here as I get the process going as the weather warms up. I will post pics and will be posting some of the soda blasting process and results soon. 
Good deal. They're good guys there at Pro Marine.
The Petit Vivid white I have on my 230 (see pic above) has held up well and it does last a while depending on how often you boat. I have had it done twice now since I first put it on the boat in 2007. It is designed to wear away as you move through the water. I am a member of a boat club here and if I leave it in the water for about 3 days the bottom stains brown due to the tanins or something in the boat basin. When I pull the boat I use a very soft brush to clean the boat and while I'm washing the boat down I lightly scrub the bottom and the brown washes away (actually wears away because some of the bottom paint comes off as you lightly scrub - don't use a hard bristle brush and scrub hard).
I am still on the fence on whether to try the epoxy barrier coat on the 170 bottom.
