Aluminum or stainless rivets on spars

T

tj0199

New Member
My mainsheet guide loop broke, so I think now is a good time finally replace that piece of hard plastic with a soft loop that won't cut my head open if it hits me.

I noticed the rivets on my boom for all the factory hardware (1998 vanguard) were stainless steel. I was expecting aluminum since, you know, aluminum spars. Also aluminum rivets are just easier and that's what I have. Is there a reason to use stainless? For this or any other spar fitting?
 
joe c said:
stainless is way stronger. ive had aluminum rivets pryout/off
Click to expand...
True about stainless being stronger, but for this loop that has minimal stress on the rivets, IMHO aluminum would suffice? It looks here like the loop failed, not the rivets.
 
Stainless for anything with non-negligible loads, aluminium for everything else, such as the mid-boom eyestrap :)

_
 
Once had a Topper dinghy where the kicker/vang attachment was a fabric loop rivetted to the mast using a stainless rivet through a stainless penny washer then the loop and then the mast. One day in hot sunshine after a sail in salt water I noticed bubbles coming from this setup. It was the corrosion happening, in the heat with the fabric providing the moisture reserve and the big penny washer providing the area. Took the whole thing off and really bad corrosion under the strap.
So for fabric use an aluminium rivet.
Our club spends more money on replacing corroded spars for the dinghy fleet than any other dinghy cost.
Finally the Gorilla tillers we have new for the Lasers have a stainless wear plate held on by aluminium rivets. One season old and all the plates are coming off and the corrosion behind the plate is bad as it is a perfect moisture trap with a large surface stainless surface area. They all have to have duralac on the stainless plate and be re- rivetted.
Having done the experiment I can say without doubt that stainless rivets are essential for all loaded parts. So invest in the duralac and gloves.
 
Corrosion is exactly what I was worried about, but I wasn't sure since the SS on Aluminum was showing no signs of rust after nearly 25 years (granted, limited use for the first 20). I hadn't thought of the new fabric strap trapping moisture which the old plastic piece wouldn't have. I did go with Aluminum for this, but if have any issues with the other parts I'll use SS. Thanks for the tips!
 
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