Pete,

Carbon really isnt the issue. Most of the carbon will be under some other finish or gel coat or paint.

I'm assuming you are getting a production built boat. If so, its most likely going to have gel coated hulls. Maintenance is the same as any other cat, if its gel coated.

You probably want to keep the bird [censored] off the boat and keep it covered. Or sail it every day. Covers help protect the lines, the tramp, the blocks, etc from UV. Gel coat will oxidize, but thats easily fixed and takes years, just like any other cat. Keep the sun off the boat and it will oxidize less. Keep the hulls clean and a coat of fiberglass wax/cleaner once and a while is a good idea.

Depending on the type of mast you get, you can specify the coating. I would recommend you get a mast that has a UV protective finish on it, most mast builders will be happy to sell you a clear coated mast. If not its easy to do yourself with System Three water based poly. If you dont clear coat it and leave it out in the sun for a long time, the epoxy in the mast will begin to break down and the mast will weaken. Plus it looks nicer, carbon looks nicer when clear coated. Left uncoated, carbon tends to turn greyish. I got a Hall and asked to have it painted, it looks great and will be protected from UV.

If you have clear coated carbon epoxy daggers or rudders, you dont want to leave these lying around in the sun. Bimare makes their daggers clear carbon, which looks nice, but will get hot left around in the sun. Epoxy will soften when it gets hot, and depending on the chemistry of the epoxy and how it was cured, it can soften in the hot summer sun, especially if its beating down on a black surface (carbon)

Carbon repair is the same as fiberglass, its basically the same, the cloth you are using is different, but its more about the glue you are using to bind everything together. So, you need to know if your boat is polyester resin, or epoxy resin and how these work together. For example, you can put epoxy over polyester, but not the other way around.

Carbon will get in your skin and itch like fiberglass when you sand it, so wear long sleeves and wear a dust mast, all common sense stuff. Dont get epoxy on your skin, it can cause you to be sensitized to it and then you absolutely cannot be around it for the rest of your life.

Read West's epoxy manual. It has all the info you need on epoxy.

Other than that, you need to be careful with your boat, you cant run it up on the beach, and you have to tie it down when you leave it for the evening or it will fly away if its windy.

If its going to blow big, you will want to take your mast down.

And dont make fun of plywood guys like Wouter, they get very agitated and make really long posts.
Bill