Yeah, but......your own work may be really crappy.
Maybe you can't trust the yard guys, but your own work may be really really bad too. You won't know until you give it a good honest try.I would suggest reading up on some of the good reference material as suggested in the prior posts, and try it out on some easier ones. Then have another boater, a qualified one, look it over. If the results are decent, then keep going with the tougher ones. If the results are really crappy, then a yard guy may not be so bad after all. I do a lot of my own work. Some decent, but some others I am not really satisfied with. The 1st time I worked on a diesel engine, I didn’t. I hired a Yanmar diesel mechanic and had him do the 1st major maintenance. I also video taped him doing the work, and asked him to explain to the video what and why he was doing, and what were the best way to do it. That tape became my reference material, on my engine. Worth every penny I spent.The 1st gelcoat repair, I also had it done at a yard, and watched him closely to learn. I then did the subsequent ones, and they all came out pretty decent. I would still have them do the major ones, and luckily I haven’t needed any. Learning to do the work yourself is fun, saves money, and feels good about it at the same time. But if you are born with 2 left hands, a yard guy may not be too bad of an alternative. I have seen some work done by the boat owner, and they were pretty bad.As Inspector Calahan says..."you gotta know your limitations" ;d