RE: catalina27-talk: Doing the Keel right and other issues.

[Judith Blumhorst, DC]

Bob,   You raise a good question.  I was sloppy in my terminology.    Sorry.   To clarify with a very brief expanation:   Stainless does rust when there's little or no FREE oxygen available, such as found in an environment of stagnant seawater. Stagnant seawater is a reducing environment for stainless steel.   SS forms a protective layer of chromium oxide in an oxygen-rich environment.  That layer prevents further rusting.  However, it rubs off fairly easily, producing pinpoint areas that are not protected from further oxydation.  SS in stagnant seawater is subject to rapid pit and crevice corrosion, same as non-stainless steel.    Don Casey writies: "Stainless steel loses its resistance to corrosion when immersed in stagnant seawater. Because of this, it is an inappropriate material for underwater fittings. It is used for keel bolts based on the optimism that the bolts will remain dry. If they do, the bolts are good for half a century. If they don’t, life expectancy can drop to half a decade." For more technical info on the topic, I'd suggest you give google a try.  There are plenty of sources on the web that can explain the chemistry involved far more accurately than I.  Fair winds, Judy B 1977 Catalina-27 Tall Rig, hull #3459,Bijou, currently being stripped and refit with all new systems. Sailing San Francisco Bay Area Visit Bijou’s website at <http://www.blumhorst.com/catalina27/catalinahomepage.htm>   Commodore Emeritus, Potter Yachters of Northern California 1985 West Wight Potter 19 #266, Redwing Danville/SF Bay, CA Potter Yachters website at <http://potter-yachters.org/> Potter Forum on the TrailerSailor website. http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/potter/index.cgi Judy B's Potter Website at  <http://www.blumhorst.com/potterpages>    -----Original Message----- From: catalina27-talk@memberclicks.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2006 12:49 PM To: catalina27-talk@memberclicks.com Subject: Re: catalina27-talk: Doing the Keel right and other issues. In a message dated 7/19/2006 3:19:10 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: DOES rust when there's no oxygen available ????? Oxidation without Oxygen ?????