Is this Crevice Corrosion or a Bad Casting?

[sully75]

I was reattaching this cleat, using an impact driver to tighten the bolt. I hadn't tightened it all that much and it shattered.

There is some of that brown stainless discoloration in the area.

I'm wondering if this is some sort of crevice corrosion or if it is a bad casting? Now anytime I see that brown stuff I'm paranoid the piece is going to self destruct.


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[sully75]

Asking because there are some used cleats I'd like to buy but they have some of the same staining.


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[Lojanica]

Originally Posted by sully75

I was reattaching this cleat, using an impact driver to tighten the bolt. I hadn't tightened it all that much and it shattered.

There is some of that brown stainless discoloration in the area.

I'm wondering if this is some sort of crevice corrosion or if it is a bad casting? Now anytime I see that brown stuff I'm paranoid the piece is going to self destruct. Attachment 86027Attachment 86028


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Go with bronze. It doesn't do that. More expensive until you consider over the lifetime of the piece it will likely outlast SS and take far less maintainence.

[delmarrey]

The next time you buy SS parts for the boat, take along a weak magnet. If it pulls on the magnet, move onto the more expensive brand.

The ones you have are probably Seafit/Westmarine and not Attwood.

[Ex-Calif]

It looks like dissimilar (galvanic) metal corrosion based on the pitting in the countersink. It also looks like a very lightweight, Chinese crap-stainless part.

Definitely the bargain brand.

[gonesail]

good that you found it was defective before it failed and your boat got smashed against a dock.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

...It also looks like a very lightweight, Chinese crap-stainless part.

Definitely the bargain brand.

This.

[thinwater]

Counter sunk bolts where there is marginal support to sides is also very bad practice. I cringe when I see that, particularly on cast fittings. A wedge, flexing the weakest point, every time it is loaded. When fabricating parts that is something I strenuously avoid. Had it been designed for Flathead bolts the story might be different.

[Cheechako]

it could be IGA, those cleats are cast and don't have a lot of meat around the bolt, so it could be it had a micro crack before you tightened it and not IGA too. Simple cast material can be a bit crack prone in tension. I like chromed bronze or bronze in those herreschoff type cleats... but have used the cast 316 ss before too. I doubt cast SS will react to a magnet..?
I like those style cleats but most manufacturers (US or orient) seem to leave little meat around the bolt hole. I'd like to see at least 2 x the hole diameter all around the hole. No one makes that that I know of.
So you are stuck with a cleat that has two bolts going thru it, or this type with 4 bolts and little edge margin...

[HappyMdRSailor]

Oh man...

Sully... I wouldn't use that style for anything... Possibly a pennant halyard, but only if it looked like obtaining a proper cleat was years away... Extremely poor mounting configuration...

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

The next time you buy SS parts for the boat, take along a weak magnet. If it pulls on the magnet, move onto the more expensive brand.

The ones you have are probably Seafit/Westmarine and not Attwood.

Hey Del, In my mind most Atwood stuff is cheap pot metal hardware. That aside.. Do they actually make these Herreschoff cleats in the USA? I would seriously doubt that ....but it would be good to know if anyone knows!

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

It also looks like a very lightweight, Chinese crap-stainless part.

Definitely the bargain brand.

This.

[thinwater]

So how come there is no strength rating system for cleats? I've never seen test results. We worry about how strong the line is and have so little info on the cleat.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by thinwater

So how come there is no strength rating system for cleats? I've never seen test results. We worry about how strong the line is and have so little info on the cleat.

Yeah, I was thinking this same thing when this came up. Some load testing would be interesting... better have a steel deck boat though!

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by thinwater

So how come there is no strength rating system for cleats? I've never seen test results. We worry about how strong the line is and have so little info on the cleat.

I generally worry more about the deck than I do the cleats. I have seen many boats with just washers on the back of 12" cleats.