OK; I'm at an impasse with one of my neighbors. I need a bit of advice on a not very common situation but to me it seems like a big deal; to you guys it may not.
My boat is berthed in a nice marina. It is in a crummy city; but the marina is very nice. Most of the boats are well kept; the people in the marina are friendly, the docks are nice concrete docks (getting old but still in great shape). Everything is well maintained. I'm very happy with the marina aside from the local crime element (random violence and killings); but the marina is in a nicer area and I just stay out of the bad side of town. My slip is in the most protected area of the marina and it is at the end of the fairway so I have an easy exit which is needed for the fact that my boat has an offset prop and really does not back/fill or turn very well without good way.
So here is the problem. Our neighbors are liveaboards who have lived in the marina for a LONG time (like 20 years); and their boat is very decrepit but it is their home/business place. The they are very nice people BUT the woman feeds the ducks and geese and they crap all over the place. I have gotten used to stepping in and tracking duck crap all over my boat; and I accept that they have been there way longer than me. I moved one slip to the right because it opened up and I figured that if I got out from behind their boat it would make it live-able.
So a couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to give the boat a wash/wax. I spent an entire week cleaning and buffing out the gelcoat after cleaning splattered duck crap off of the transom and sides near the walkway (where she washes the dock down). On one spot on my transom the crap had damaged the paint; so now I have to do a touch-up because it removed about a pea sized spot of paint.
So as I did my polishing/waxing they looked on and poked fun at me for doing the arduous task and sort of seemed jealous in a kind sort of way. I finished the boat on a Friday afternoon but did not have a chance to take it for a sail that weekend. The next weekend I come down to go for a daysail and there is crap splatters on the stern and sides. I was livid; but I also figured that I was there to go sailing, not argue and it would all wash off when we were out on the water with the rail buried. When we returned we parked the boat bow in so that the stern would not get peppered again; and I tied the bow tighter to the starboard side so hopefully the splashing from the dock would not hit the boat.
Yesterday; we went down to go sailing again and the shiit splattering was even worse. It was on both sides of the boat. So we go sailing again and I bite my tounge despite my initial anger. It was a beautiful warm/sunny day but the wind was light. Regardless it was a great sail. When we are getting ready to head out I decide that we should give the boat a light scrub to knock the crap off the sides (we usually just rinse the hull). So I scrub it and the crap is stuck on so hard it won't come off without either heavy scrubbing or scratching it off with a fingernail. On the areas where I scrubbed it hard the water stopped beading up which might indicate that I scrubbed the wax film off
So I really need some advice on this; I don't want to be confrontational, but I also am sick to death of having crap sprayed all over my boat. The fact that it is ruining my paint and I have to wash off the wax to get the stuff off is the last straw. Do you think I should ask them to give my boat a rinse after washing the docks? I don't know if I trust her with a high pressure nozzle spraying my boat either; especially since I leave the bathroom portlight open for ventilation. If I ask her to rinse the boat I might be asking for more trouble; but if I don't it will just continue. If I ask her and she says no; what would I do then? Should I inform the Harbormaster of the problem and ask him to tell her to stop feeding the ducks/geese? The are her "pets"; and I'd hate to have it come to that but I just can't take it the way things are currently anymore.
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