[Sailormon6]

My preference would be to at least barrier coat the part on the bow where the gelcoat is almost gone, and then cover the whole bottom with a fresh coat of antifouling bottom paint.

Interlux Paints has an 800 help line number on the label of their paint cans. Call them, describe your situation, and ask if you can just barrier coat the bow, to protect the worn area. If the rest of your bottom is not blistering, and if it is still coated with gelcoat, I don''t see why you couldn''t do it that way. If so, it would protect your boat while saving you a lot of work and a lot of money.