'Clicking' Noise That Moves Around Boat

[At First Sight]

We have recently moved onto our new (to us) Sunward 48 ketch. Since being onboard we have noticed a strange clicking that seems to move around the exterior of the boat on the hull and on the deck. It sounds like a mooring line being stretched (but all lines are slack when we have checked for this). It is not constant, but once it starts it seems to last for some time. We have checked all of the obvious origins--rigging, lines, dripping water onto deck--even considered fish nibbling, but sound is much too loud. Any ideas?

[MYTraveler]

Probably fish or shrimp.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by At First Sight

We have recently moved onto our new (to us) Sunward 48 ketch. Since being onboard we have noticed a strange clicking that seems to move around the exterior of the boat on the hull and on the deck. It sounds like a mooring line being stretched (but all lines are slack when we have checked for this). It is not constant, but once it starts it seems to last for some time. We have checked all of the obvious origins--rigging, lines, dripping water onto deck--even considered fish nibbling, but sound is much too loud. Any ideas?

HA HA!!!

The old famous "my hull is fracturing" noise???

Uhm...

Shrimp... I'll find a wiki page...

PS Welcome to CF!!!

[weavis]

If your reading some of the threads here, they will tell you its Zombies.
What rubbish!
Zombies tap..................

[HappyMdRSailor]

Here ya go...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPrGxB1Kzc

google pistol shrimp... Now sleep well and enjoy the concert...

[zeehag]

is your boat. you are gonna die

there are so many things living under your boat-- brine shrimp, fishies, crabs, lobsters... al click. brine shrimp are the most common in temperate zones.
we have pargo (red snapper) that bite barnacles off the boat with a snap.. loud bangs are the toro(jack) fish catching their dinner....

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by zeehag

is your boat. you are gonna die

there are so many things living under your boat-- brine shrimp, fishies, crabs, lobsters... al click. brine shrimp are the most common in temperate zones.
we have pargo (red snapper) that bite barnacles off the boat with a snap.. loud bangs are the toro(jack) fish catching their dinner....

Quite the sight when you see them in a frenzy boiling under the docks!

Kinda looks like a Hollywood piranha scene...

[Tellus]

hungry swan..
( we had some over years)

[HappyMdRSailor]

I once took a newb on an overnighter on his new to him boat...

I had one of them wireless fob noismaker toys... Just about the most fun I have ever had messing with him....

[LTDsailing]

I was sailing as crew on the Baja Ha Ha a few years ago. We where having drinks with some folks on another boat and heard this quite loud crackling sound. The owner said that this sound had been driving him nuts for weeks and he had no clue what it was. Apparently the tequila had me in a fog because it didn't come to me until early the next morning as I lay in my bunk half asleep it came to me - SHRIMP! Our friend from the night before was pulling anchor early and sailing out - I got on the VHF and caught him just as he was leaving the anchorage. He was very happy to hear it wasn't his boat making the noise!

[UNCIVILIZED]

Funny tale. My little brother came to spend some free time with me, not long after he was out of college. I lived on my Ranger 33 at the time.
Well, being a sailor... and poor, I knew where the happy hours which served really good (FREE) food were.

So we went out to one of the bars on Shelter Island in San Diego one night, as buying Margarita's, entailed you to all of the Roast Beef you could eat. The thing is, he wasn't really a drinker (like almost not at all), but it seems that he Definitely liked their Raspberry Marg's. Had like maybe 3 of'em.

Well, we wander back to my boat to call it a night, & after having been laying down for all of maybe 5 minutes, he says (with a mild tone of panic Very evident in his voice).
"Andy, what's that sound".

"What sound?" I replied, having lived aboard for 6 months at least, already (ergo the being broke part).

"It sounds like we're being attacked by giant lobsters" - Much more panic in his voice now.

When I finally quit laughing, I said...
"It's tiny shrimp. They're like the size of a pea, & are eating the algae, etc. on the hull". After which I told him to chill out a bit on watching Science Fiction movies ;-)

Had a few other fun & interesting adventures on that visit. It was a good trip (in both senses of the word for him).

[Vulk]

I think the clicking noises I had may have been different, but I am posting this anyway just for info. I removed my teak deck to repair it and found the "clicking" noises I had stopped. So before reinstalling it I bought skateboarding truck bushings ( a bag of 20 was 5$ ) between the deck boards and the deck. This has worked and no "Clicking" due to the different heat expansion rates of the deck v/s the boards.

[AussieCat]

First time it happened to us it was around 0300 and it scared the hell out of me! Turned out to be a couple of the local wild ducks having a feed on growth just below waterline as we were due for new bottom paint!

[fjwiley1]

Depending on where you may be at the time and if for a period of time along with inadequate antifouling, you may have Sheepshead gnawing away enjoying cleaning your hull along with the shrimp........



Life is Good if you Keepa Smilin.......




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[zeehag]

heck ye aint lived till ye hear the thump on the hull, go out to see what ran into yer boat--only to see a penguin shaking his head as he attempts lift off..... wait a few minuets-- dang he aint done yet...3 times bird had to fly into the hull before figuring out that we were there..... in broad daylight.... yeah it was a light blue hull,and they were florida pelicans

we have catfish, pargo, toro, puffer/blowfish, 4 kinds, and others under boat--i feed em the cat food leftovers bubba wont eat