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Bird Crap

7K views 47 replies 21 participants last post by  SailNet Archive 
#1 ·
So after delays because of wind and ice I finally got hauled on Monday. When I went down to cover the boat the deck was covered with bird crap. This has been a problem in my marina all summer but with me being the only sailboat left in the water for a couple of weeks there was no other rigging to share the load with(no pun intended). Seems all the Sassafras birds hung out on my boat as their bathroom. I don't know what they eat but something is purple.
Luckily I'm near the boat shed and with the help of a few hoses and a ton of Roll Off I got it all cleaned off. My question is, would it have permanently stained my decks if I left it on over the Winter? How do you guys who stay in the water all year deal with those lovely deposits if the marina shuts the water off for the winter? Just curious.
 
#3 ·
I'd be reluctant to leave it there over the winter.... it would have likely stained and it's good you got it off.

We have a similar problem, but it's year round as the boat is always afloat. This past season a bird adopted our radom (on a stern post) and we had a regular pile ofcrap. shells etc in the corner of the cockpit.

Adding a thin wire/line 2-3" above your spreaders will (from shroud to mast to shroud) discourage birds from perching there - I'm thinking of adding one of those (unfortunately ugly) spiky things you see on some buoys to keep them off the radome.

We moved slips recently so seem to have lost that particular tenant for now.
 
#4 ·
Depends on the type of bird and their diet too. Geez, we got nailed one year by a flock of little birds that had been eating berries. It was terrible.

We kept previous boats on a mooring ball for several years and I tried all sorts of things to persuade the birds to go somewhere else. Plastic owls, fishing line strung over the boom, I even set a bunch of mouse traps and tied them down several places on deck but just ended up with rust stains from the mouse traps. I finally won the battle by shrouding the boat in mono-filament gillnet when we left the boat unattended. What a pain. Our kids are using our old mooring now for their boat and have resumed the battle.
 
#12 ·
We kept previous boats on a mooring ball for several years and I tried all sorts of things to persuade the birds to go somewhere else. Plastic owls, fishing line strung over the boom, I even set a bunch of mouse traps and tied them down several places on deck but just ended up with rust stains from the mouse traps. I finally won the battle by shrouding the boat in mono-filament gillnet when we left the boat unattended. What a pain.
I spent several years on a mooring, I devised a system which kept the birds away (in our area they are cormorants, who seem to manufacture a foul-smelling version of 5200 :eek: ). I raised a bridle made from a 6 ft long PVC 3/4 in pipe, and the other 2 legs from polypropylene line with party flags woven into it. I raised it on the main halyard so that the flags were a few inches above the spreaders, and then kept it snug to the spreaders with light line fixed to the lifelines forward of the mast.

I also strung another length of polypropylene/party flags above the boom.

It really worked against the cormorants. It does take a few minutes to raise/lower it.
 
#5 ·
Leaving the crap on all winter is a definite no no, the stuff eats it's way thru car paint so just imagine what it'll do to teak.
If you don't wanna go and clean every week, about the only thing that safes the decks etc is a full boat cover, and you'll probably need a new 1 every year.
 
#24 ·
The snake works for me too. I haul an inflatable one up my main halyard. It's so big, if it were real, it could eat a pig. I can't belive the birds think it's real, but what the heck. My problem was not poop however. On mine the big birds would catch fish in the creek, then take them to the top of the mast to eat. Apparantly the guts are hard to hold on to.
 
#10 ·
You can use CD's photo, no need for photoshop...

I mean.....look at this...see what mean?? even if I photoshop YUKKKK



Or if the birds are really stubborn...this would do it..



Just print both and attach somewhere in the boat....

I mean, the one above works even if you leave the photo inside the cabin in drawer...
 
#11 ·
Consider yourself lucky in S. Fla we have iguanas think dog size dump with urine mixed in so it runs 4 or 5 feet They love to lay on the hatch under the dodger Get on the boat go to the cockpit and have a 5 or 6 foot lizard jump across the deck into the water Think human sized dump
 
#14 ·
Little black birds dropping purple berry's...I would come out and find a half dozen or so on the backstay.
My solution ...a plastic black crow on a home made pig stick attached to the spinnaker halyard...I have substantially cleaner decks.
 
#41 ·
I reckon owls don't work as good as one would expect:D



An interesting thing that we discovered in New Zealand is that birds generally speaking do not appear to be all that stressed by the presence of a rubber snake. We reckon the reason is because there are no natural snakes of any sort in NZ and the birds probably don't understand that they should be scared:)

What I have seen working is a grid of flat elastic strapping (20mm wide) like that used in clothing, spanned not too tightly. Even in a mild breeze they hum and buzz and tend to move the birds onto the boat next door. I haven't personally tried them because I don't have a bird problem but the boats that use this in our marina definitely have cleaner decks than their neighbours.

Andre
 
#17 ·
You really should never leave bird crap on the boat... It's not only bad for the boat... in the age of avian flu...you don't want to leave bird crap anywhere near you for long periods of time. :)

If you're really having a problem with birds next year, you might want to try an electronic solution. There's a company that makes an electronic bird box that has the distress calls for the ten species of birds most common to your area, and it will generally keep about an acre or two of area clear of the birds in question...might be worth investing in.

As for using CD's photo...I think that would turn your marina into a superfund site...
 
#19 ·
Teshannon-

One of the brands that I've installed is located HERE. The box is about $250 or so IIRC.
 
#23 · (Edited)
It actually isn't any noisier than the birds themselves... and it keeps the birds from crapping on almost all the boats in the marina... I seriously doubt your marina neighbors will complain if it isn't any noisier than the birds and keeps them from crapping on the boats.

Idiens-

The electronic devices will generally keep birds clear of the marina, so the aerial bombardment basically stops.
 
#28 ·
I picked up two of these yesterday. Ive seen them in and around power house's to keep birds off of the transmission line's and out of substations. They definitely work although can drive you a Little nutty and there 12v.

My next line of defense....:eek:
 
#30 ·
TEShannon-

That's basically the same beastie I posted a link to above, and if you're trying to keep them off your boat and some of your neighbors, you don't need to turn it up that loud... it does go pretty loud though...hence the warning label.
 
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