Crap Update: Snake Failure

[WanderingStar]

A recent thread discussed ideas for keeping birds off. Until recently, I used (successfully) a plastic snake that came with the boat. Alas, the snake has lost his charm. Last two times aboard there was a mess. Did the birds wise up? Are there tougher birds in town? Who can say. I'll strind a line above the spreaders, and perhaps go back to my old solution. I used to run a broomstick aloft on the flag halyard, balanced so it was horizontal. This tempts the bids as ane easy perch, but tips them off when they land. It worked on my old yawl. I now see a couple of other boats in the mooring feild using it.
By the way, there's a guy in Glen Cove that devised a system to shock the birds when they land.

[BarryL]

Hi John,

How have you been?

I have found that the only thing that keeps the birds off are bird spikes. I bought and installed plastic spikes on the spreaders and mast head and the birds have left me alone ever since. Last year, in September, the spikes on one of the spreaders fell off. The birds got me good after that.

The boat I race on has fishing lines strung from the mast to the spreader. It works, but seems to require lots of adjusting, fixing, re-stringing, etc.

Let me know if you want / need help sending someone up the mast(s) to put lines or spikes up.

Take care,
Barry

[mitiempo]

You could always get a bigger meaner looking snake.
Brian

[Allanbc]

You could always have some real snakes living on your boat.

[CalypsoP35]

We don't have a huge problem with birds, but once in a while I would be left with some unwanted presents. I noticed that when I moved some of my lines off the mast to keep them from making noise I never had any bird droppings. I attached my main halyard to a forward starboard lifeline stanchion and my topinglift to a forward port stanchion. I guess this made it tough enough for the birds to get to my spreaders and foredeck that they went elsewhere.

[jbondy]

The problem seems to be worse some years that others. This is a bad year. Spikes work, although I haven't had a problem with birds landing on spreaders. They'd land on the crane at the mast head, bending the Windex. I put spikes there. This year they've been perching on the boom, so I've run fishing line from the mast to the backstay so it's about 6" off the boom. That works.

Then they started landing in the cockpit itself, which they've never done before (like I said - a bad year). With lifelines all around, I thought they wouldn't do that. Now I string several lines around the cockpit to discourage them. That worked, but is a PITA to remove and restring every time.

Then they landed on the Raydome, which is mounted on the backstay, so they're cr*pping on the helm seat. This is a good location for spikes if I can find a way to adhere them to the top. I rigged some temporarily with cable ties running all around the dome, but they won't withstand a blow. I also ran some long cable ties around the dome and put some short ties around the long ones, sticking up to act as spikes. Does anyone have ideas about how to mount them more permanently on the top of the dome?

TIA

[WanderingStar]

Don't they have a python problem in Florida? Can they be taught to eat cormorants? Might discourage trespassers too. HMMM....
Barry, I'm doing great. Enjoying the boat, had a couple of fantastic daysails this month. You?