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Looking to barrier coat soon and will probably use Totalboat Totalprotect in grey. I will primarily be trailering the boat but may someday keep it on the water for extended time for ease of use. That said, I called Jamestown Distributors and they said there were hybrid antifoul ablative paints that were a little harder to stand up to trailering but also good for leaving it in the water during the season. The technical support guy recommended Spartan and Micron CSC. I've also read that Pettit Vivid paint works well as well.

What are my options?
Thanks!

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I wouldn't paint it until you are sure to be leaving it in the water for weeks at a time. No need to. I would use an ablative, I've used Interlux ACT

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I second HJjohn's comment above why go through the work and expense (ablative paints aren't cheap). Even if you leave it in the water for several or more weeks you can pull her out and scrub her clean easily.
Both the Interlux ACT and Micron CSC are excellent anti fouling paints but not needed unless you more for a season or months on end.

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Thanks for the tips. So should I apply barrier coat and then paint with a topside paint?

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I just completed painting my hull with quantum99 paints.

I barrier coated / primed the whole hull.

I wet sanded the areas of the hull that would be visible when the boat is in the water to 320 grit and topcoated that area with 3 coats

I sanded the barrier coated hull bottom to 150 grit, i.e. the area not visible when the boat is in the water, and topcoated with only 1 coat.

I am unsure if I will anti-foul in the future because the boat looks so good i'd hate to cover it up. If so, the 150 grit will be sufficient to adhere the antifoul.

I am still customizing the boat so anti-foul decisions are down the road.

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Thanks. I'll look into the quantum99 as well. The only reason I would go through the trouble now to apply antifoul is the boat is off the trailer and upside down where I can work on it easily.

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Kayaken it doesn't matter if the boat is upside down. Again why would you want to put a anti fouling paint on a boat that doesn't need it. Is you current gel coat damaged? Barrier coating is just an expensive primer. If your gel coat is in good shape and you still want to apply bottom paint you must first de-wax the bottom and then scruff it up for the bottom paint to adhere.
You can always follow the instructions on the bottom paint can.
But like I said B-4 I think it is a waste of time and money for a trailered boat.
Use the elbow grease to buff a mirror finish on it, which will also help keeping growth off.
Good luck with your project.

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EJO: the current gel coat has pinholes and cracks. I think it is beyond repair. I also have to repair some dings and divots with epoxy so paint is my option. That said, should I barrier coat prior to painting the hull? What type of paint works best over barrier coat? I've read so much about this and still feel a bit lost with all the different options.

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It's a lot of work to do a full-on gloss finish. Seems like you're trying to do a good, durable job, but not necessarily look for factory perfect. If I have that right, you may wish to follow your fairing efforts with a good primer, followed by a hard epoxy antifouling such as Pettit Vivid or Unepoxy. We have used the latter for years in Maine and it holds up well to trailering. Our boat spends 4 months in the water each year and the rest on a trailer, and we recoat every two years.

A number of people have mentioned getting the Vivid tinted to match their hull color, and that may also be a good choice for you.

If you go to Pettit's website there is a ton of information. For your situation the Pettit Protect high build primer may be a good choice, but that's just going on what they say, have not used it myself.

You do not want an ablative paint - don't need the antifouling and it wears off on the trailer bunks.

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Tedious,
You are spot on. Just want something durable for sure. Don't think it'll ever be factory finish.

This is what I'm thinking for final paint process for below waterline:
1. Tape off waterline
2. Apply Sea Hawk Barrier Coat
3. Apply epoxy primer
4. Apply Unepoxy

For above waterline and inside the boat: Awlcraft

My last question is do I need primer over the barrier coat before applying the Unepoxy?
Thanks!

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Also, is epoxy primer the same as barrier coat?

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I am by no means an expert. I recommend going to Pettit Pants website and doing some reading. There are several articles here which seem pertinent to your project: http://www.pettitpaint.com/m/product_....asp?id=79

Method 2 in the article How to Bottom Paint Bare Gelcoat seems to match what you are doing fairly closely.

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Yes in that case a barrier coat will be needed for the pin hole defect.
I believe a barrier coat is as good as a primer and therefore cut out that step.
Good luck in your repair.