www.bristolbronze.com . . . Call and ask Roger Winiarski about bronze versus stainless: He loves to talk about the superior corrosion resistance of bronze. Should be a very superior material for the new M23's c-board. ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Fleming" <jfleming1231@earthlink.net> To: <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 4:01 AM Subject: M17 Keel/Centerboard Mark, After all my blather about bronze thru-hulls and scupper re-routing, it sounds like you came up with the lowest-impact repair. My only (probably unwarranted) concern is water leaking around the edges of the stainless pipe and getting between the glass and pipe. Stainless will not corrode in seawater only as long as there is plenty of dissolved oxygen to keep the passive surface layer intact. When stainless is exposed to stale low-oxygen-content seawater, it corrodes the same as any metal. So the polyester or epoxy should be lapped seamlessly over the pipe edges and into the inner surface. Bronze doesn't seem to have that kind of corrosion problem. I read recently where somebody was exclaiming that bronze was very much an ideal marine metal, since they have pulled up bronze artifacts from 2000 yr-old wrecks that were pretty much intact, once all the sea growth was cleaned off. Once again, thanks for a good description of a smart repair. John Fleming M-17: "Star Cross'd" It really wasn't a very tough job, but it is scary thinking about making holes in the bottom of your boat! I just hope some expert on this list doesn't spot a serious blunder (if you do please speak up!!). The Pacific Ocean hasn't gotten in yet, so I think I did alright. Good luck, Mark Dvorscak M17 #400 Grace