it has original gel coat but i need to paint due to complete restoration of boat inside new stringers,floor,console the whole thing. the boats color is off white and i want to paint just white but im scared to mess with original gelcoat on bottom. need help and suggestions from the pro's here. god bless

will you be doing all the work yourself and have you ever worked with automotive finishes before? as far as the gel on the bottom you will want to leave that alone unless you are going to re-gel it. paint on a running surface is not a good idea. post some pics if you can and i will see if i can find my patented run down on the steps to get your boat ready for paint. i need to dig it out of an older thread

oh . . . welcome to the board. you have stumbled onto a wealth of knowledge here in all aspects.

Prep it yourself and have a professional spray it with first a top quality epoxy primer and than a top quality urethane or base/clear. Proper prep is what is going to take the time. Spraying should take 2 days if your doing the deck too.