All this talk of leaking toons got me paranoid and..........

[GregF]

DO NOT use stainless in aluminum. It will eat the aluminum up

This is a stainless bolt bolt in an aluminum rail



The bottom one is a chrome over brass washer on the bolt

[HandymanHerb]

Never seen it happen, stainless is always used with aluminum as it non reactive with other metals

[woolznaz]

Is anyone else confused????

So far, in this thread we have the following opinions (I'm paraphrasing):

"Plastic is junk and crumbles/breaks, should use something more durable"..... followed by
"should use brass with some kind of anti-sieze lube".... then
another poster seconds that with: "use brass with some sealer or teflon tape".... followed by
"dealer gave me stainless steel to use"..... followed by
"Never use brass, always use stainless"...... followed by
"Do not ever use stainless"

Geeeez, it's hard to know what direction to go. I never knew stainless would react to other metals. Like Herb, I thought that would be a safe combination, but I sure could be wrong.

[badmoonrising]

Never seen it happen, stainless is always used with aluminum as it non reactive with other metals

Yep, stainless is non reactive with aluminum. My 42 year old Starcraft has a ton of stainless in contact with aluminum and there's NO corrosion at all. This boat was used it's entire life in the Chesapeake. My PC is all stainless hardware as well.

When I buy stainless steel hardware, I bring a magnet with me. Some cheap Chinese made stainless is magnetic and therefore NOT to be used with aluminum. Good quality stainless is NOT magnetic...

All boat manufacturers use stainless in direct contact with aluminum...

[The_Hellbilly]

I will call Voyager and get their opinion

[lakerunner]

I will call Voyager and get their opinion

Good luck with that
If that's factory then they are cutting corners and buying crap stainless

[woolznaz]

..... Some cheap Chinese made stainless is magnetic and therefore NOT to be used with aluminum. Good quality stainless is NOT magnetic...

All boat manufacturers use stainless in direct contact with aluminum...

I would bet that is the source of some of the confusion -- cheap stainless. I feel pretty confident that if you use a quality stainless product, you are not going to see corrosion.

[The_Hellbilly]

Just got off of the phone with Voyager. SS is fine and is what they use now because the plastic does rot out. Also the screws in the boat are SS and I would bet that your screws are too

[badmoonrising]

Yep, some Home Depot stainless hardware is crap too. I go to my local True value and never had a problem. Always bring a magnet with you when buying stainless..a boat builder gave me that advise once.

[GregF]

You would be at odds with the guys who build boat tops here (SW Florida) . They say the aluminum and steel can be troubling. Perhaps there is a difference between 304 stainless and 316 but it is not an issue of being "cheap". (304 is stronger and will attract a magnet, 316 is shinier)
This could also be a salt water thing. The bay isn't really salt water.
http://web.vims.edu/physical/WEB/PRESNT/bsalt.htm

[cjett]

Generally, you don't want to use any stainless with aluminium that will attract a magnet. If it attracts a magnet it has a higher iron and carbon content which will cause a reaction in aluminium. 18-8 OR any 300 series Stainless steel has no reaction with aluminum.

Not sure about the previous poster who said 304 attracted a magnet... I've never had anything made of 304 attract a magnet. You should be 100% safe with any 18-8, 304,318,or 316 type stainless.

[GregF]

I suppose the guys who build boat tops are nuts and maybe it is just a salt water problem but I have more pictures. The SS snaps for the top rotted big holes in my rails.
They do make a teflon paste for this that does mitigate the problem.

[badmoonrising]

Generally, you don't want to use any stainless with aluminium that will attract a magnet. If it attracts a magnet it has a higher iron and carbon content which will cause a reaction in aluminium. 18-8 OR any 300 series Stainless steel has no reaction with aluminum.

Not sure about the previous poster who said 304 attracted a magnet... I've never had anything made of 304 attract a magnet. You should be 100% safe with any 18-8, 304,318,or 316 type stainless.

Exactly. And yeah the Chesapeake Bay is salty, lived here all my life to know this. The lower bay is as salty as the ocean while the upper bay is a bit fresh in spring and gets saltier as the summer progresses, even more so in drought years.

Also my 42 year old Starcraft has patches with SS nuts/bolts and there's zero corrosion at any of them. The brass hardware the previous owner used caused big holes to form in the transom. I guess since every aluminum boat builder in the country uses SS hardware, they are all wrong

[GregF]

The Chesapeake Bay is brackish until you are all the way down south by the mouth (20PPT or less and <10 up around Chesapeake Beach) according to the people who study the bay.
http://web.vims.edu/physical/WEB/PRESNT/bsalt.htm
The Gulf of Mexico is 37-38 PPT.

If it works for you, go for it. This may just be a south Florida problem I was just reflecting my experience. Sorry for any confusion.

[badmoonrising]

Still don't get your point, because salt is salt. Even in freshwater dissimilar metals corrode, the more salt the faster the process. Good quality stainless is non-reactive no matter what the chemical composition of the water.

I've used my Starcraft: In the Atlantic...In Pamlico Sound, NC...the lower Chesapeake...nope, no corrosion anywhere after I removed all the non stainless hardware during it's restoration.