Connie, I have bronze disk brakes on my M17 trailer. They are of the hydraulic surge brake variety. They are very efficient and are also easy to rinse after dunking the trailer in salt water. My M23 trailer has drum brakes (also of the surge variety) on one axle. They also seem to work well but one wheel always tends to lock up on hard braking. I'll have to work on the adjustment to equalize the braking a little better (a problem that doesn't occur with disk brakes). At some point I believe I might replace them with disk brakes for the easier maintenance. As an alternative I might consider installing a flush kit which would insure a thorough rinsing of the brake assembly after a salt water dunking. There are a number of sources for brake kits. Champion trailers ( www.championtrailer.com )is one that I have used in the past. Good luck Mark Dvorscak M17 Grace M23 ???