A friend of mine gave me his 15ft fiberglass golden hawk (I think). He repainted it with a textured paint similar to a bed liner but not rubberized. Why he did this is beyond me. It is starting to peel off but I'm a little timid to take a belt sander to it. Is this the correct way to attack this project or is there a less aggressive way.

I would try a solvent to get it soft and scrap it off.fiberglass should not be effected by things like Goof Off but of course try a small spot first.

Unless properly prepped most paints/finishes will come off a canoe fairly easily, start with a "good" pressure washer.

I would start with heat. A blow drier won't get hot enough, and a torch will burn the boat. A Heat gun made for stripping paint is easy to control and softens the paint, making those areas that are stubborn peel.

Sounds like cheap paint.

Aircraft paint remover in the spray bottle will make quick work of it. Or you can find it in the brushable form. It will not effect the original polyester gel coat.

Thanks for everyone's responses. Being that this is my boat project I will probably be back later with more quesrions.

Another vote for the heat gun.