I've used both aluminum pop rivets and SS tapped bolts. I tend to use SS tapped in bolts for things that pull perpendicular or have a pretty good load, such as the boom vang. When I use SS against aluminum I coat the SS piece in TefGel. It forms the barrier needed to ward off the corrosion. So far, so good. I can definitely tell where I've used TefGel and where I forgot to use it. Joe SeaFrog M17 ----- Original Message ----- From: douglas kelch To: Montgomery Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 1:41 PM Subject: M_Boats: Pop rivets? I am curious about Tom's comment on stainless pop rivets. I used to use stainless self taping screws. Over 10 years of use, often in saltwater, they fused to the boom and were not easily removable and the resulting larger hole was not useable. I switched to aluminum pop rivets as thier strength seems to be well in excess of the need on small boats like ours. There does not seem to be any need or advantage to stainless pop rivets. Am I wrong here? Thanks Doug Kelch M15 G" #310 "Seas the Day"