Oh Poop!

[eliems]

They moved me to a different slip and now I am the only sailboat near the restaurant so the seagulls are making use of my upper spreaders and covering my deck in poop!

Someone suggested attaching a plastic owl to the spreader, has anyone tried that?

Another said to lay a strip of tacks along the spreaders so they can't land but I could see the tacks ripping the sail.

Any other suggestions?

[Pete7]

Plastic snake on the deck or in the rigging.

Pete

[KDH]

We've used the plastic snake as well with pretty good success. Another sailor we know used cds tied to the shrouds as they blow and twist in the wind and seem to keep the birds away. You could ask the marina to move you away from the restaurant.

[sww914]

Fishing line just above the spreaders, 3"-4", tied tight between the shrouds.
Might need to add a couple of little pad eyes on the mast if your mast is too thick to get a good angle.
I saw a guy in Newport, Ca who had a dead cormorant hanging from the mast of each of his 4 delinquent sailboats. That worked.

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by sww914

Fishing line just above the spreaders, 3"-4", tied tight between the shrouds.
Might need to add a couple of little pad eyes on the mast if your mast is too thick to get a good angle.
I saw a guy in Newport, Ca who had a dead cormorant hanging from the mast of each of his 4 delinquent sailboats. That worked.

+1 to this. (except the cormorant part)

Fishing line is the only thing I know that really stops em. I'd just add that I like to use thick 80# stuff cuz it seems to last longer.

[rtbates]

hang a few of cds from the spreaders

[gunkylump]

I have read that some folks install plastic tie wraps or electrical ties a couple of inches apart with the "tail" of the tie wrap pointing up....last forever and is purported to work.......

Seems feasible, I haven't tried it so don't know for sure.

gunk

[SVFlyingEagle]

Forget the fake biota and re-purposed plastic. Tried them all. None initially worked anywhere near well enough to satisfy. And their effect inevitably wore off.

I finally cut my similar birdpoo problem way, way down by mounting bird spikes on the spreaders. They're strips of fanned-out stainless wire spikes set an inch or so apart in a UV-resistant transparent plastic base. (Web search on "bird spikes.") Since mounting them -- with stainless hose clamps and rigging tape to isolate the clamps from the aluminum spreader -- I only get hit by the very few birds that occassionally and temporarily land on the fore- and backstays. Far quicker and easier to cope with.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Yer want to tackle them before they consider your boat "home".

CD's won't "scare" them away - but they do seem to unsettle them enough so they never get comfortable enough to regard your boat as chillaxing territory (I think it's the occassional and random glinting out of the corner of the eye thing - annoying for anything!).

[DDabs]

But then you have CD's hanging from your spreaders... isn't that a little tacky?

[chas5131]

Not as tacky as bird poop. Also makes you more visible.

[Bermuda Forte]

I use light gauge metal seizing wire from the spreader end going up at a slight angle to the mast. They can't land there and it works quite well. Much less poop since I did that.

When I leave the boat on the mooring for a week or more, I also string a couple hundred feet of light line just above the main & mizzen booms, and a bit of it port 'n stb between shrouds and up to the headstay. It takes some time but better than cleaning a stinky boat when I get back.

These things have been pretty good but they still like to chow down on my spacious foredeck. And, sometimes they are on the masthead. Osprey busted my DataMarine wind machine bracket last year. I need to put that spikey thing up there.

Has anyone tried these electrical gizmos that make some irritating noise that scares 'em off?

Capt'n Q
S/V Aquila

PS- Anyone know how to get that nasty stain off of my sail covers? Nothing I've tried works.

[Ex-Calif]

Leave an open bag of birdseed on your neighbors boat...

We have had semi persistent birds in the past. We drop the lifelines as that seemed to be their hangout as well as the pulpit. Don't know what makes one boat attractive vs another but after a while they just seemed to pick another boat.

Hanging out and pooping is bad but one guy had his stack pack become a nest. The birds rebuilt like 4 times.

[Blue Stocking]

Heavy metal CDs scare me away, R & B, Diana Krall, I'd stick around for.

[boden36]

Went to the hardware store and bought a few galvanised nailplates. Tweaked the spikes so they were vertical.Tied them together in a line with gal wire and then attached the line to the top of the spreaders with cable ties.
Been there for years and work well.
I also leave the boom at about 40 degree angle up so they don't feel comfy.
Regards,
Richard.