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Let me see if I can bring something of value here–
1. Having sandblasted aluminum boats before, I do not recommend it because it leaves a very coarse finish, most difficult to smooth if you want a satin or polished final finish. For underneath new paint, perhaps OK. But overheating is not a problem. Maybe with a large, bridge-size blaster, but not with one in a home shop.
2. There are two types of blaster: pressure and siphon. Soda blasters seem to all be of siphon type. Sandblasters can be of either type. I have an old Sears siphon blaster and have successfully used it with both sand and soda.
3. The amount of air needed has everything to do with the nozzle size. He will have to check the required cfm (remember that the psi must also be considered) of the chosen blast gun. Even so, for a small shop-sized blaster, the 5 hp should be fine.
4. Be sure to keep moisture and oil from entering the blast gun. It will mess up the surface he is working on and could cause problems with paint adhesion (again, not a problem if he will be polishing).
5. Sandblasting or soda blasting a large surface uses a LOT of media and takes a LONG time. To remove the paint, I use CitriStrip. It flat works. Around the keel and ribs, and anywhere the rivets are not flush, go with the blast media to get those remaining tiny bits of paint.
auldscott