Question: Are you going back with new bottom paint or just removing the old bottom paint? Reason why I ask- If you're planning on repainting w/ bottom paint, you don't necessarily have to remove the existing bottom paint completely- just sand and repaint.
You've got a few options on the removal of the paint:
You could pay someone to soda blast the hull, but I've heard some people say that soda blasting damaged their hull.
OR-
You can buy a nice half-face or full-face respirator w/ particulate matter cartridges (N95) and some good goggles (not necessary w/ full face respirator) and sand it off yourself. Bottom paint is relatively easy to sand off. If you can flip your boat, that's even better. I put mine on blocks and sanded it from underneath... nothing about it was fun, but it was not that bad.
I recommend buying the respirator even if you don't plan on removing it yourself. Any kind of glassing/repainting/sanding on a boat is hazardous to your health, especially grinding/sanding fiberglass. Unless you never plan on doing any of this work yourself, I would definitely go ahead and get a respirator. Besides- there's nothing like the pride that comes along with doing it yourself.
