I picked up an older Sanger (1977 buble deck), that needed some TLC last year and started to remove everything. My plan was to take it down to the bare hull, strip the various layers of paint/gel coat and have the boat repainted/gelcoated, rebuild the motor, new interior, ect. In the teardown process, the subfloor has major rot as do the stringers. I was planning on taking the boat in for the repairs, but my better half was laid off recently, putting this project on hold. I've looked into several of the West epoxy systems for reglassing in a new floor and stringers as well. it is now looking like I might tackle the sanding down process of the existing paint/gelcoat.
I'm looking for information as how to start the sanding process. Do I start with a power sander, and if so what grit levels or by hand ?