after fighting with a fuel gauge/sender problem and adding a second finder. the screws on top of the wire/engine controls cavity on the right side of my counsil boat are stripped. do i replace them with stainless? the boat stays out side but covered. what about fasteners down the road. do you guys always use stainless?
Use stainless. You should be able to find them at the local hardware store… They arent cheap, but not too bad if purchased in bulk(box of 100) and you’ll have them fo any future use.
I have used galvanized screws in a pinch for things that mount to the wood, and not to aluminum with ok results.. galvanized isnt much cheaper. Galvanized and Aluminum will oxidize(sp?) and will cause problems in the future.
My local Gander Mountain usually a supply of assorted stainless hardware.
Fleet Farm has a pretty good selection also. 
went to gander mountain and picket up a pack of stainless screews. had to go with philips head as square drive wasn’t an option. i was under the impression that stainless was historicaly strong. about half of them stripped out. used a new bit, applied good pressure, and still ended up drilling 3 out because they stripped before getting all the way down. a couple more stripped after getting all the way down but they’re staying untill i have to take them out. i was just replacing through excisting holes with #8’s. same size that came out. 
I get mine at the local Ace hardware.
Stripping stainless does happen easy. Most of the time I pre drill the holes if I am going through metal, or thick wood.
Stainless is a dense metal but it is considered a soft metal. Very easy to strip and snap off screws if the drilled hole isn`t the right size.
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