Bird poop

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
These plastic flags worked great for me while on a mooring. Quick and easy install. View attachment 160158
Same thing with just rope works for me. I have an 18' attractive bird perch (boom). A piece of 1/4" line run from the mast to the topping lift, a foot or so above the boom, prevents Ospreys and Cormorants from landing. For some reason, the boom is the only place they feel comfortable on my boat, so it's worked nearly 100%.

I row past fishing boats with Gulls and Cormorants sitting right next to fake plastic owls. The birds have those figured out,...

Some sailboats attract birds to perch on flat mast heads, radomes and spreaders. Stuff like this (now available off the shelf), works for them.
Bird prevention mast.jpg
 
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Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,301
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Same thing with just rope works for me. I have an 18' attractive bird perch (boom). A piece of 1/4" line run from the mast to the topping lift, a foot or so above the boom, prevents Ospreys and Cormorants from landing. For some reason, the boom is the only place they feel comfortable on my boat, so it's worked nearly 100%.

I row past fishing boats with Gulls and Cormorants sitting right next to fake plastic owls. The birds have those figured out,...

Some sailboats attract birds to perch on flat mast heads, radomes and spreaders. Stuff like this (now available off the shelf), works for them.
View attachment 160162
The bird spikes have worked well for me.
 
Jul 1, 2014
252
Hunter 34 Seattle
A lot of great comments here! I also posted on another site and got a lot of concern about birds getting caught up as noted. Seems like dead birds hanging all over the boat would be a good deterrent but maybe netting is not such a great idea. A line above the boom should be pretty simple to protect it. I don't like the idea of spikes anyplace a spinnaker could touch so I think I'll run some SS wire above the spreaders between the standing rigging and mast and so some sort of macrame between the radar guard and the mast. Would SS wire there interfere with radar performance? Or use monofilament?
 
Mar 26, 2011
3,399
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
Mono fishing line 2-3 inches above the spreaders helps, but it only lasts one year.
 
May 7, 2006
245
Catalina 28 Mark 1 New Bern
I was also in Cotuit off ropes beach and found the CDs over the boom and wire about 4inches above spreaders to be effective
 
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