im trying to mount a latham wingplate to my bravo drive. latham wants a small fortune for theri hardware. my question is what grade of stainless is used for the studs to mount the wingplate? i have a 36" threaded rod that is 316 stainless that i was going to cut into studs. does anyone see any reason why this would not work? their website talks about most of their parts being 316 stainless but they do not mention the grade of studs. imco lists some of their bolts that hold the ram onto their drive cap as 316 so i am thinking its strong enough but would rather be safe than sorry. the companies that sell steering setups dont seem to give out any info than they have to and they dont seem to like talking to private customers. honestly after talking to latham i am not sure i would ever buy their products after this. imco at least posts info and prices online.

ARP has high strength stainless studs. Bulk threaded rod is usually very soft stuff.

arp is a option. i will give them a call tomorrow. the threaded rod i got was not the genric bulk stuff, i had to order the 316 stainless which is suppose to be stronger and is also what most marine parts seem to be made from. im hoping i can figure someting out to avoid ordering from latham. i am gonna end up paying more for the studs and spacers to mount the wing plate then i did for the wing plate itself.

i would not use the threaded rod,,i will stretch..merc uses a stud because its stronger in the center then where the threaded part is..spend the extra money on the studs,if anything were to happen and the insurance copany were to find that part failed they will void any clame's..

316 and 308 are corrosion resistant but not very strong. They are roughly equal to a grade 2. There are some less corrosion resistant and slightly magnetic stainless steels that are heat treatable and stronger. ARP is probably one of your best options.

Aren't these studs different threads on each end? course thread on one end / fine thread the other?

I would use aircraft grade stainless its about 4 times stronger than 304 or 316. By the way 304 and 316 are equal two about a grade 2 bolt.