[Douglas]

Ahoy Benz , West Marine catalog Adviser on SS, is quite good info.

What you have heard about oxygen starvation in salt water is similar to what I have heard too. Where this takes place most is in the cutless bearing and shaft log, on SS prop shafts, but that is called worm-hole corrosion.

My investigations say the enemy of SS is in stagnant salt water environments, like where SS is surrounded closely by entraped salt water, like in lower swaged fitting terminals, and that entrapment turns the salt water stagnant. Further investigation reports that crevice corrosion is a victim of Chloride Ion attack by the free Ion molecule, found in Sodium Chloride or salt water.

Your caribiner's SS alloy , might be suspect. The SS alloy that Winchard uses is probably quite good, as they have a reputation to protect, but I too have found my Winchard SS eye nuts, corrode way too easily ,,, evidensed by rust stains , and thus pitting too.

As for reducing crevice corrosion for your SS gate closure terminals, I have found marrying SS and Silicon Bronze a successful way to reduce the corrosion on SS . Ie: bronze bolt thru a SS plate,,, a SS clevis pin in a bronze toggle, ect., or using bronze link plates instead of SS ones.

The information you will eventually need won't be found in only one place, drats !

This forum and Brion are excellent places to start, but the pleasure boat industry has such a poor history of desiging SS structural fittings and their fabrication and their installations to avoid crevice and other corrosion on their fittings .