I've been giving this a bit of thought lately since I'm still in maintenance mode.
I was about to pull the trigger on the SS scupper when a thought occurred to me...is stainless the right choice for this location? The OEM part is plastic. Was there a reason other than cost?
I have removed the clean-out tray a couple of times for other projects, but I haven't reached down to feel around the scupper.
My question for those of you who have done this repair is was there any evidence of water pooling down there?
Is there a possibility that water entering this compartment in the future would pool around the SS scupper?
If the answer is "yes", then I have a concern. Stainless
will corrode under the right circumstances. If it is submerged or partially submerged it could rust. I've seen it and I'll bet many of you have.
It brought to mind an article I read a while back - I read it more for information about sacrificial anodes than anything else, but it touched on all types of corrosion that occurs on a boat. Specifically "Crevice Corrosion" and how it particularly effects stainless.
Here, have a read:
http://www.boatus.com/boattech/articles/marine-corrosion.asp
So, I'd be interested to know if the collective brain trust here thinks it could possibly be an issue.
They do make stouter plastic and nylon scuppers than the OEM model and as Fairpilot opined, and I agree, the factory may well have over tightened that part on a good number of the boats. Interesting to note that some of the older models are holding up well.