Birds and their turds

[Miker]

In another Topic there has been discussion about how to prevent birds from sitting on your boat and crapping everywhere.

When we bought Dulcamara she had a fine white net that ran over the main sail cover, across the cockpit and most of the way forward to the mooring cleat, and down the lifelines. It took 20 minutes each time we sailed to either gather it up or put it out.

When I moved to Careel Bay, I vowed I would do everything I could to make it easy to go sailing, so the net had to go. So, this is what I tried.

1) The netting - required lowering the lazy jacks, plus a lot of clipping on to rails, small ties etc. Pain
2) The famous plastic owl - for some reason the Pittwater Seagulls saw this as a threat, so they spent a lot of time dive bombing the owl, and of course as a consequence, left lots of poo.
3) Plastic shopping bags - these make a racket, but they do keep the birds away. They also take a bit to tie up and put away when you go sailing. They also need regular replacement, so they don't break down and get in the water choking the fishies....
4) Humming tape - great, if you remember it's there, otherwise you walk into it and cut your throat....again, you need to deploy at the end of the day.
5) This is my favourite..... a giant rubber black snake. I saw one once on a boat that the tender stopped at, so I asked the owner whether it worked. He said, "ya don't see any shite do ye?" He was right. I got one and put it up in front of the mast step, and just left it there. It stayed put until my return from Lake Macquarie in September. I recently noticed that there was the occasional crapper on the front of the boat, so went and got another snake, this one is bigger and green. It's now just sitting there on the foredeck. CAUTION - until you get used to it being there, it WILL make you jump when you go fo'rard. It will also keep the birds away, so far so good.

So now we have approximately 6 minutes from arriving at the boat to being ready to drop the mooring, and about the same when we get back from our sail. Easypeasy....

[lockie]

Spreader lines make a huge difference. I also use a line that clips between the mast and the topping lift, and hangs about a foot above the sail cover, and has a few paint brushes dangling from it. I use those ultra-cheap ones they sell in Bunnings - they're white with a red tip on the handle. No idea why but they work - only the occasional little stray poop from a bird flying over these days.

Also handy to have a mooring-minder or two rotting away nearby providing a comfy alternative to your boat.

lockie

[Aaron]

The snakes are the go!!
In lane cove river, a few years a ago all the boats were covered in poo, and then a little bird like a finch took over and its very rare we see seagulls, but the little finches leave lots of little tindy poo every where.
A friend of mine have snakes all over there boats, and when they start the motor they vibrate and give me the creeps!!

Aaron

[Dolphin]

Where do you get the snakes?

[Miker]

Where do you get the snakes?

Greg, Snakes are everywhere.... Toys R us, Uncle Pete's, sometimes the National Geo Shop, most toy shops. Or you could just hunt around the bush and get a live one to leave on board.....