No expert either but I have found that there is no
paint that works well for me if I don''t clean the bottom just before the race. I use a dry diver and it only takes a few minutes to have a CLEAN and FAST hull.I was not doing well for a few races this fall and remembered the keel.I had not cleaned it for about four weeks. After the keel was clean the boat started moving well again and than it was just my poor tactics that got us beat, not boat speed. I took the VC17 off my boat and also removed the vc tar, got to gell coat and put on Copper Poxy.This
paint is a two part deal, about 60% copper, a little hard to work with, but I ended up with a slick bottom and the great news is it lasts about 10 years.I am on year four and it looks the same now as when it was put on.They are on the web I sugest you check them out. Good luck!