RE: [Paddlewise] Stainless steel corrosion (was Skeg vs Rudder)

I think that if you re-read Dave's original statement you might find that he
was commenting not so much on stainless steel in general, but rather the
issue of rust in cables, composed of stainless steel, and commonly employed
in marine environments.  I think the key was his reference to "crevice
corrosion".......

I don't think that any of us who live and paddle around salt water would
deny that SS is the strongest most rust-resistant metal commonly available
for out tools and toys, but the stuff _does_ rust.  There are different
grades of SS with widely different corrosion resistance, but my dad's the
ME, not me.  Any other engineering types out there than can expand our
knowledge base on the different SS grades?  

Dave Seng
Juneau, Alaska

Sailboat Restorations, Inc. wrote:

> But I have been working on sailboats for 
> many years,
> and I have never heard it said that ss exposed to salt water 
> "is notorious
> for its degradation."  Quite the contrary, I have always 
> understood that ss
> is one of the best substances to use in a marine environment, 
 
Dave Kruger originally wrote:
> >I've been reading a tome on marine corrosion, and stainless 
> steel cable
> exposed
> >to salt water is notorious for its degradation -- and 
> sometimes from the
> inside
> >out (look up "crevice corrosion" on the Web, if you want 
> more detail). 
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