Stainless steel can have surprising failure modes. For instance, crevice corrosion[1]. The shiny stainless steel fittings holding up your sailboat mast can cor

Stainless steel can have surprising failure modes. For instance, crevice corrosion[1]. The shiny stainless steel fittings holding up your sailboat mast can corrode straight through without more than some tiny telltale signs. You can see an example here: http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=107622 http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=107622 The manufacturing likely provided a tiny crack, splash a little salt water and next thing you know your sailboat's mast is in the water next to it trying to bash a hole in the hull. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crevice_corrosion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crevice_corrosion