The beauty of bronze is not just in the classic look and finish, it's also in the working of the metal into pulpits, stanchions, chain plates, etc. It casts nicely, polishes nicely. It's easy to cut, easy to bore, easy to bend, easy to thread to whatever spec you want. If I'm buying off the shelf it's typically SS but for the right boat, homebuilt, it's bronze. More money up front for bronze but money saved in fabrication. I cut a lot of bronze on my 10" Delta bandsaw for that boat. IMHO of course...

Mine might not'a been as classy in design but it was fun to form into eminently functional custom units. The double bow roller is made from 1/4" plate, the chain plates were 3/16" plate sheared into strips and cut on the band saw, the pulpit and stanchions were formed outta schedule 40 bronze pipe. Still got a chunk of that around here somewhere. Tough to throw out old bronze. I also did plug pieces to be sandcast by a foundry for the rudder heel, bobstay fitting, deck fitting for the baby stay, etc. IMHO if you're building your own, bronze is still the way to go. The boat is being rebuilt now from rotting for fifteen years at the dock by a subsequent owner but all the bronze still looks as good as the day it was built.