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vonchris7 · 02-06-2017, 14:51

Ahoy there,

I'm pulling my boat out of the water in about a week to redo the bottom paint. It was last painted Feb. 2015 with an ablative paint (prior to my ownership). I had it out of the water in Sept. 2015 and everything looked great.

Had a boatyard guy try to sell me on this bottom paint... Cameron Amercoat ABC3.

Anyone ever used it? And Liked it, with good results?

Thanks!

toodleoo · 02-06-2017, 15:41

Ameron is a commercial ship coating. Good paint.

model 10 · 02-06-2017, 15:55

It's kind of the standard paint at Green Cove Springs Marina in Fl and lot's of boats come out of there. I had it on for year on the way to Guatemala and it seem to be, normal to good.

Shoalcove · 02-06-2017, 16:38

I used it for about 15 years without any issues at all. Worked great.

s/v michaela · 03-06-2017, 09:18

I have used it for a long time on a steel hull over amercoat 2 or 235 primer. Very good paint. Most of the large commercial vessels use it. Use alternating colors (red, black,blue) so you can moniter wear, and treat it gently(tell your divers)!

nitpik · 03-06-2017, 10:11

I have also used it for thirty years on a steel hull, with excellent results.
Made the mistake of switching to Pettit Hydrocoat, because my supplier said ABC#3 was no longer available (he was wrong!) As a result, I will probably never again use a water-based anti-fouling, no matter how great someone tells me it is. I am going back to ABC#3!

redhead · 03-06-2017, 10:14

We used it on a steel hull. Easy to use, good coverage. Worth the price.

const0022 · 03-06-2017, 11:44

Very good, I used it in UK and Mediterranean for several years. If antifouling is washed gently when hauled out, ie not jet washed, one new coat was OK for the 7 months cruising again, and then still came out reasonably clean needing just a light brush or sponge...with water,preferably a hose.

tomfl · 03-06-2017, 12:02

It is one of the softer self polishing paints. Specs say it will self polish if the boat speed is 10 knots or greater. It needs to be treated gently by divers cleaning the bottom. It was on my boat when I bought it and I was happy with it over all.

Johnno · 04-06-2017, 03:49

We have been using it for the past 4 years on the Australian East coast and have found it to be pretty good for up to 2 years. we usually antifoul our boat ourselves and do 2 coats overall with 3 on the waterline and leading edges plus Propspeed on the prop and prop shaft.

Nanamuk · 04-06-2017, 07:26

In the Pacific North West it lasted 3 years - unfortunately I can't find anyone to sell it to me as an individual (in Canada) - only sold to shipyards. The yard I hauled out in this year also would not allow it to be applied.

ES0T2_7 · 07-04-2018, 10:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitpik

I have also used it for thirty years on a steel hull, with excellent results.
Made the mistake of switching to Pettit Hydrocoat, because my supplier said ABC#3 was no longer available (he was wrong!) As a result, I will probably never again use a water-based anti-fouling, no matter how great someone tells me it is. I am going back to ABC#3!

I also used Hydrocoat with bad results. How did you prep the bottom for the abc3? Did you just sand with 80 grit and then apply or did you have to make sure all of the hydrocoat was gone?

nitpik · 07-04-2018, 11:42

Well, I ended up selling the boat (health) before getting at the bottom paint again, so I did not put the ABC #3 on there again.
In my experience, that Pettit Hydrocoat really doesn't like to stick to even aged epoxy, so I was planning to just pressure wash the bottom, and then maybe a light sanding with 120 grit. I don't think removing the Hydrocoat will be a problem - it falls off all by itself! The ABC sticks to most substrates, but if you put it on top of the Hydrocoat, it is going to come off when that lousy water-based paint comes off.