Nails for jetty, stainless or galvanised

[steve yates]

Are galvanised 6" nails ok for nailing board to the legs of a jetty or do I need stainless. If stainless, do you know where I can get some? Struggling to find them online.
The boards being nailed on will be submerged for 33 hours either side of high tide. Thanks.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Stainless would likely result in anaerobic corrosion so I would go for galvanised as long as the galvanising is good with no gaps. Six inches nails seems overkill depending on the board thickness of course but with something like a one to one and half inch board no more than 3 or 4 inch should be adequate.

 

[R.Ems]

Are galvanised 6" nails ok for nailing board to the legs of a jetty or do I need stainless. If stainless, do you know where I can get some? Struggling to find them online.
The boards being nailed on will be submerged for 33 hours either side of high tide. Thanks.

Interesting tides you have..I would definitely use galvanised nails.

 

[sarabande]

What's the wood being used for the planks pls ?

 

[steve yates]

lol, 3 hrs, sorry.

Its scaffolding plank nailed onto telegraph pole. Its just to fill a gap at the bottom where the vertival running boards already on the pole legs stop. Its designed for bigger boats, the gap would normally be no problem, but I have my 18 footer on there at the mo, and a fender board tied to her side could easily catch and jam as she starts to float. Hence the gap filling.

 

[sarabande]

That means they started out as good quality pine timber. You can't creosote them or use preservative bcs of environmental concerns, though the telegraph posts will have been treated a long time ago. Search for "galvanised clouts" 100 x 4.5 from builders merchants.

 

[vyv_cox]

Stainless steel in wet wood never lasts for long. The real answer is silicon bronze, nowadays used for wooden boat building, but difficult to justify the cost. Galvanised steel should give quite a few years of service.

 

[steve yates]

Thanks all, I've ordered galvanised ones, only need to last a few years as the little boat will have to move to a mooring to make way for the big one anyway.