My neighbor just bought a small boat and wants to remove the bottom paint. The previous owner left it in salt water for a long time and looks like it has about 4 layers of paint on it... some of it is chipping. Anyway, it looks really bad so he wants it removed.

What's the best way to remove it?

I suggested pressure washing off as much as possible and then trying a chem stripper. I'm concerned Zip Strip would eat right through the gel coat as well. I believe they make a chemical bottom paint stripper, but I have never used them.

I assume you shouldn't sand this crap down because of the toxicity, correct?

Soda blasting would probably work well, but he's a DIY kind of guy and I really doubt he'd spend the money to have it done.

Any other ideas or suggestions?