Stainless fasteners on a bronze underwater fitting?

[Joe Myerson]

While wrestling with my bonded-on gooseneck and waiting for Rig-Rite to make the part, I recently removed the old raw-water strainer from my boat. I'll post pictures of the disaster that I found inside later (I can't believe that my engine was able to run for all these years.)

I've received a beautiful new, hinged bronze strainer from Groco, and it fits perfectly. The vendor, Defender, recommends using stainless screws to secure this piece, and I have the fasteners they recommended. But, dear friends, do I really want to mount a below-the-waterline piece of bronze with stainless?

If I can get to Beckman's in New Bedford (open weekdays only), I can probably find the necessary silicone bronze machine screws for this job. What's the consensus of the board on mixing metals like this below the waterline?

--Joe

[gvanbell]

I personally wouldn't worry too much about it. Worst case is that they are going to fuse together, which they will probably do no matter what over time. Chances you're going to ever take the fitting apart again?

I wrestled with all of that in our refit and ended up going with Marelon for everything and added a strainer inline but isolated from the through hull fitting. I gather that's not your first best option right now.

But as always, if you can do it right (with the bronze fasteners) then why not?

-g

[Oswego John]

"But as always, if you can do it right (with the bronze fasteners) then why not?"
g

ditto.

Joe, just wondering if you have a jellyfish problem in your waters?

O J

[Joe Myerson]

Joe, just wondering if you have a jellyfish problem in your waters?

OJ: Not so much jellyfish as barnacles and something I always called "tubeworms." They form calcium carbonate tubes and get inside of everything. When I finally got the old strainer off, I discovered that the opening for the raw-water intake was almost completely blocked by those little b*stards. (Again, I'll post the pix when I get to my regular computer."

I've always scraped off the barnacles at the end of the season, painted the strainer with antifouling and not worried. Cape Dory had fiberglassed the screws in, never painted under the strainer and never put any antifouling underneath the strainer. Still, it worked for more than 30 years.

--Joe

[Steve Darwin]

Joe, What part number was the new strainer? I need one too. - Steve Darwin

[Ron M.]

My original 1977 bronze strainer was installed with ss machine screws. I've removed it twice, once to remove 20 years of bottom paint and lastly to install a ball valve seacock for the engine intake. The ss screws were in perfect condition.

[Joe Myerson]

Joe, What part number was the new strainer? I need one too. - Steve Darwin

Steve,
The Groco part number is RSC-1000, and the Defender stock number is 501127.
--Joe

[Jim Cornwell]

Yankee's little bronze raw water strainer is secured with three ss #8 pan-head screws. These have been removed frequently for cleaning the through-hull (I now do it every season and am amazed at the fouling up in there) and I always dab a bit of sealant into the now-enlarged holes. But the screws themselves are just fine. Jim.