Type of stainless steel & fasteners used

[DaddyShark]

Hi there

We've been looking at 2019-2021 Ranger Tugs and noticing rust runs and discoloration around stainless steel: railing, seat hardware, etc

What grade of stainless steel is being used on RTs (R-25/R27): I would assume marine grade 304? 316? The fasteners seem to look ok, is the railing lower quality SS?

Seems this rust/oxidation is around the welds in particular, as in the attached.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[Bruce Moore]

Bumping post delayed in moderation queue.

 

[scross]

In the past Ranger Tugs and Cutwater have sourced their stainless railing, radar towers, etc from Bolton Stainless of Armstrong BC.
Website here: https://www.boltonstainless.com/
Can’t tell you what grade of stainless Bolton uses but I remember a RT exec telling me it’s Stain Less not Stain Free.
I use Diamond Magic and an old toothbrush to easily get rid of the stains illustrated in your photos.

 

[DaddyShark]

In the past Ranger Tugs and Cutwater have sourced their stainless railing, radar towers, etc from Bolton Stainless of Armstrong BC.
Website here: https://www.boltonstainless.com/
Can’t tell you what grade of stainless Bolton uses but I remember a RT exec telling me it’s Stain Less not Stain Free.
I use Diamond Magic and an old toothbrush to easily get rid of the stains illustrated in your photos.

Do those stains stick / get hard to remove on the boat paint? Seems there is rust leaking from under the stainless steel railing poles and other vertical hardware. Why would that be, if it's all marine stainless. Can there be lower quality steel on the inside of the poles/tubing that the railing is made of?

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

 

[scross]

I’ve found that I can get about 90% or more of the rust stains off the stainless and the gel coat with Diamond Magic. Takes a minute or so of scrubbing at each stained junction point. The whole boat takes a few hours of work at the beginning and end of the season. I suppose I could get even better results if I spent more time. The gel coat comes out just as clean as the stainless if not better. A good coat of wax after cleaning helps. For me it’s just one of many seasonal recurring maintenance items.

 

[Red Raven]

All grades of stainless steel my stain at welds and trapped areas. There is no such thing as “no stain”. As scross states an annual scrub with metal polish/wax takes care of the stain shown easily with a small brush and microfiber towel (both the stain on the steel and on the gel coat come clean easily). In the case of a severe rust/corrosion problem the hardware may need to be moved and re-bedded with an adhesive sealant like 3M 4200 or equivalent. Relatively speaking, these sort of stains are one of the easiest ones to deal with compared with the other challenges to maintaining a boat.

In my opinion Bolton Stainless makes some excellent custom stainless hardware!

Curt

 

[tuglug]

I was told at the 2022 Roche get together that ZEP Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner works wonders.... Apply to the area let set for a short time (less than 30 seconds??) and wipe off... I have not tried it as of yet (new boat) but I will certainly try it during spring cleanup prior to summer cruising....

W Watters

 

[BB marine]

There is good quality Stainless steel and not so good! 304 and 316 SS have different qualities but both will stain. 304 more than 316. All of the hardware used on Fluid motion is 304 fasteners and bolt ons. Most of the staining is from poor sealing ,lack of sealing between the mating surface of the hardware to the fiberglass surface. The water gets under the mating surfaces. We just encountered a R27 outboard model that spent 80 days cruising in the Bahamas. When they tied to the dock the boat looked to be 20 years old. It was a 2021. It had rust stains leaching all over the decks, swim platform, bow rails, and cabin roof. All from the mating surfaces hardware to decks. After an afternoon of scrubbing and cleaning with chemicals the boat looked good again. I have been cruising in Alabama and Florida waters since the 3rd week of October Orange beach Alabama to Ft Pierce Florida and continuing up the east coast. Gulf and Atlantic waters in a 2002 Mainship Pilot (21 years old.) I have not one rust stain and have not removed a rust stain on any part of the boat and there is a lot of stainless . I do rinse it off after a heavy dousing of salt water. I believe it is the difference of quality hardware used compared to lower quality and better sealing or bedding of the hardware. What else would it be?? I spent the same amount of time in theses waters with my Cutwater in 2020/2021. After that trip I spent a week removing rust stains. Honestly the gelcoat on my 20 year old boat looks better than my 2016 Cutwater did when I purchased it new! Don't get me wrong Fluid Motion builds a hell of a boat. I just wish they spent a few extra dollars on their hardware and gel coat. If I was in the market for a smaller cruising boat I would still be shopping a Cutwater good quality hardware or not! I'm not bashing the product just giving my experience and opinion.

 

[GarryH]

I agree completely with Brian Brown above- just look at more expensive boats and the condition of the SS hardware is astonishing. Although I agree that rust staining is occurring do to inadequate bedding, I also believe the lower quality stainless is the primary culprit. Case in point: the SS hardware on my 2021 R-29CB had rust/oxidation spots all over the hardware/rails within a month of deliver. I am dealing with it as stated below, but it is frustrating when viewing other boats at the yacht club, 15-20 years old without the rust. I also experience significant rust staining on the swim platform from the propane locker. However, it is what it is, and now how to deal with it. Personally, I apply FSR (thin layer using a soft paint brush or small paint roller); wait 30 secs and wash off with a hose. The only thing easier would be no stain to start. However, I find the stain back again within 7-10 days. Therefore, after the hardware and swim platform dries, I apply a coat of polish and a separate coat of wax. That has been lasting about 2 months; except swim platform. I put the 2 tanks of propane into plastic shopping bags and I still get rust in about a week. Any suggestions on preventing rust stains from the propane tanks?

Garry

 

[dbsea]

I agree completely with Brian Brown above- just look at more expensive boats and the condition of the SS hardware is astonishing. Although I agree that rust staining is occurring do to inadequate bedding, I also believe the lower quality stainless is the primary culprit. Case in point: the SS hardware on my 2021 R-29CB had rust/oxidation spots all over the hardware/rails within a month of deliver. I am dealing with it as stated below, but it is frustrating when viewing other boats at the yacht club, 15-20 years old without the rust. I also experience significant rust staining on the swim platform from the propane locker. However, it is what it is, and now how to deal with it. Personally, I apply FSR (thin layer using a soft paint brush or small paint roller); wait 30 secs and wash off with a hose. The only thing easier would be no stain to start. However, I find the stain back again within 7-10 days. Therefore, after the hardware and swim platform dries, I apply a coat of polish and a separate coat of wax. That has been lasting about 2 months; except swim platform. I put the 2 tanks of propane into plastic shopping bags and I still get rust in about a week. Any suggestions on preventing rust stains from the propane tanks?

Garry

I got new propane tanks and sprayed the bottom half of them with a rubberized coating. So far, no rust!

Plasti Dip Multi-Purpose Rubberized Coating - Aerosol - White https://a.co/d/gT1r9dy

 

[FlagShip]

When we first got our boat the stainless developed spots of surface rust over the first few months. I tried the fancy stainless soaps, but in the end Starbrite Stainless Polish works the best. I apply it a couple of times per year, no spots of rust ever.

As far as rust stains on the gelcoat (especially the swimstep), I used a few products. Caustic ones like Wink, just made the rust worse as you can't completely rinse it all as it gets under the fittings. Best product: just the simple Starbrite Rust Stain Remover. Spray it on, let it sit a minute or so, hose it off. Occasionally, a spot might need some light agitation.

Bottom line, keep it simple. I've found Starbrite, of all brands, has some great products.

 

[Emerson]

There is good quality Stainless steel and not so good! 304 and 316 SS have different qualities but both will stain. 304 more than 316. All of the hardware used on Fluid motion is 304 fasteners and bolt ons. Most of the staining is from poor sealing ,lack of sealing between the mating surface of the hardware to the fiberglass surface. The water gets under the mating surfaces. We just encountered a R27 outboard model that spent 80 days cruising in the Bahamas. When they tied to the dock the boat looked to be 20 years old. It was a 2021. It had rust stains leaching all over the decks, swim platform, bow rails, and cabin roof. All from the mating surfaces hardware to decks. After an afternoon of scrubbing and cleaning with chemicals the boat looked good again. I have been cruising in Alabama and Florida waters since the 3rd week of October Orange beach Alabama to Ft Pierce Florida and continuing up the east coast. Gulf and Atlantic waters in a 2002 Mainship Pilot (21 years old.) I have not one rust stain and have not removed a rust stain on any part of the boat and there is a lot of stainless . I do rinse it off after a heavy dousing of salt water. I believe it is the difference of quality hardware used compared to lower quality and better sealing or bedding of the hardware. What else would it be?? I spent the same amount of time in theses waters with my Cutwater in 2020/2021. After that trip I spent a week removing rust stains. Honestly the gelcoat on my 20 year old boat looks better than my 2016 Cutwater did when I purchased it new! Don't get me wrong Fluid Motion builds a hell of a boat. I just wish they spent a few extra dollars on their hardware and gel coat. If I was in the market for a smaller cruising boat I would still be shopping a Cutwater good quality hardware or not! I'm not bashing the product just giving my experience and opinion.

Thanks BB. This matches my experience and stories I heard from other manufactures. In light of that, dismissive comments like "stainless, not stain free" lack empathy and seriousness. Sad.

 

[Emerson]

I was told at the 2022 Roche get together that ZEP Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner works wonders.... Apply to the area let set for a short time (less than 30 seconds??) and wipe off... I have not tried it as of yet (new boat) but I will certainly try it during spring cleanup prior to summer cruising....

W Watters

I was given the same advice, ...possibly by the same person. In my experience, this stuff is very aggressive. I use it sparingly and rinse and rinse and rinse some more. Then I polish with metal polish (Fltiz or similar). The first time I used the Zip product I did not rinse enough and the results were horrible. Some of the polish out there removes the rust and protects.

 

[Rocky Lou]

As others have indicated, plan on putting in more time polishing stainless and removing rust spots than you would with a higher quality stainless. The other thing I find necessary is using Salt Away rather than water only. You can hose rails and rod holders for a substantial amount of time and they will still have plenty of salt sticking to them. If you are not doing a complete soapy wash, Salt Away is essential.

 

[Meercatz]

Interesting. We bought our boat used from Port Boathouse in Port Alberni and they were just finishing up detailing it while we were there. Port Boathouse cleans up a lot of used boats each season and their detailing guy shared his favorite products.

He uses FSR for cleaning rust and other stains off of the gelcoat and it also works to remove rust on the stainless steel itself. I use it on all of the railing feet and the gelcoat surrounding them. It works great and is also in gel form so it clings to vertical surfaces. Use a toothbrush to to agitate it several times and then rinse well when the stain is gone. I swear by it.

For polishing up the stainless steel, he uses Flitz. Same thing - it is an amazing product.

 

[srhawk454]

Had same issue with propane tanks. Thoroughly cleaned the tanks, applied (same as dbsea) rubberized coating, and it fixed the problem. I still get occasional rust in other places but I do not think it's a problem. An old toothbrush and a trusted On & Off gets rid of rust stains within a couple of minutes. On & Off is another great product to use.