Bud,
I agree that stainless steel wood is maintenance free, except for some polishing like your silverware. But there is also another advantage, it allows for other possibilities: Mooring cleats, a plate to mount your self steering to, an anchor roller to slow a boat down in a storm. But now I am thinking of adding a base with braces for a short SS mast that holds a wind generator and or solar panels outside the mainsheet which is attached like on the "real wood" boomkin to the blocks. - I had the bow sprit and boomkin built in 1975 and there is still no rot on the SS-316 wood. Wow! It is better than the aluminum tube bow sprits that the Islander 41 (or 43 ?) have; although 50 series aluminum machines like a dream!
Btw., I looked at Jay Bietz's post and he has an interesting stainless steel boomkin. Since W32s are double enders, there is no good place to attach a swim ladder, this has a nice solution. I prefer myself to make the boomkin wider and leave off the railing. Anchoring stern to is not that common in North America, but in Europe. If I ever get there, I am well prepared, with a wide boomkin. I also have a double backstay with insulators for a single side band that got stolen in Hawaii, and I needed the width for the spread. The boomkin on Polaris is attached with brackets that are inside the bulwark riser, not below and further aft. The same with the bowsprit. Both the 'sprit and boomkin are through bolted, so that if the stays break, they still hang onto the through bolts in the deck.
Do I see a platform on the side of Jay's boomkin? It is not clear from the photos, but it appears that there is something to step on when coming up on the ladder.
Another item: Do you use a stelf steering on long passages? Electric or mechanical? If so, what do you use? This may be the subject for another topic.
Keep on sailing!
Mike
