bottom paint

Question
I am having bottom paint placed on my boat. I have been told that if you have barnacles on your boat to leave it in the water until you are ready to paint. That way the barnacles stay alive and are easier to remove. It seems that you would also get more barnacles though. Also I keep my boat on a boat lift and was told that the air deteriorates the bottom paint and I should just leave it in the water. Whats the truth. Thank you.

Answer
Some types of ablative paints dry out when not in the water.  If you are going to repaint taking it out should not be a problem.  As for the Barnacles, they are hard to get off if dad or alive.  Often you need a grinder or brush wheel to remove them.  I like them dry as it is not so messy with a grinder then. If you can put your fingernail in the paint you have you will needed to sand or blast off the soft material before putting a hard bottom paint on.  Once our paint is on you can have the boat in or out of the water with no ill effects.