Miniture Sea Monster - Another Marine Mystery

[Roger Long]

I just returned from this 12 day, 575 mile cruise. Eastbound days are alternating red and yellow; westbound, green and magenta.

Shortly after departing, I noticed that the Dri-Dek I'd recently installed at the helm station had a hole in it over the cockpit scupper. I'd been doing some work in the Lazarette and I figured that I must have kneeled on a tool or other object and punched it through.

Then, I noticed that the hole ran through joints in the sections with just a thin portion of one left. Hard to imagine something punching like that without tearing the thin strand. I turned the mat over and found what are clearly teeth marks.

The scuppers end a couple inches above the water and are about 9" long and straight enough to see through. Something with small sharp teeth climbed up the supper, encountered the Dri-Dek, and went to work to gain access to my boat. I didn't see or hear any critters on my trip and I can't think of any sea creature that lives in Maine that could have done this.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Witzend]

Looks like a mouse work to me.

 

[Maine Sail]

I didn't see or hear any critters on my trip and I can't think of any sea creature that lives in Maine that could have done this.

Anyone have any ideas?

Wharf rats (brown rats) are determined, excellent swimmers and will eat through just about anything.. A wharf rat is my guess...

 

[Roger Long]

A wharf rat is my guess...

They must be excellent swimmers. It's a long way out to my mooring.

How come I've never seen a mouse or a rat swimming around?

 

[kloudie1]

They do that at night. ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_rat
I hope he is not still on the boat !!
There are many documented cases of these guys crawling up in a powerboat exhaust and eating through the wire reinforced rubber hose to get into the boat..

Looks like it was a fine trip, Roger..

 

[dscribner]

Similar but different story:

My wife complained that the gas grill smelled like a dead animal. It smelled so bad that when it refuse to light, she had my oldest boy move it off the deck and away from the house. When I inspected it, I noticed that the gas line had been chewed through. Some mouse, I'm guessing. Chipmunks too. I had one chew the bleeder cap off my gas can. I saw him do it!

 

[Ross]

Go to your local farm supply store and but a pound block of rat bait. You can break it into 8 pieces along the scores. It has a hole through the center for a tie down. They eat they die.

 

[Maine Sail]

They must be excellent swimmers. It's a long way out to my mooring.

How come I've never seen a mouse or a rat swimming around?

I've seen wharf rats in Portland and Down East near lobster wharves. Perhaps could have crawled up in there at a fuel dock? Saw a HUGE wharf rat swimming behind Harbor Fish about three months ago. Gave me pause about buying my fish at HF...I have never seen a swimming mouse, but rats yes..

 

[zeehag]

I've seen wharf rats in Portland and Down East near lobster wharves. Perhaps could have crawled up in there at a fuel dock? Saw a HUGE wharf rat swimming behind Harbor Fish about three months ago. Gave me pause about buying my fish at HF...I have never seen a swimming mouse, but rats yes..

ratlee so--any dockage area will have rats and roaches--eeewewww---we had spray for the bugs, and kat for the rats--no gull poo or anything --

maine coon kittens adapt nicely to boats and are excellent mousers. they will box the ears of a min pin, and will kill sparrows and bat seagulls on the butt with closed paws. awesome rat kiillers. good lightning protection, also......they walk on leash and fetch and catch , some do those even better than dogs ..lol can train them to high five and other stuff---and they talk to ye-silent alarm on board...they grow to be larger than most rats..

ross--get me that recipe--i have a coupla ex hubbies could use a good meal......

 

[Witzend]

I had a brown rat that got underneath the refrigerator, made a nest in there. I pulled the unit out, took the back off and pulled the nesting out, meanwhile the rat went further in under the condenser coils. I then procedded to use a hair driver to scare him out and into the nesting material. This all worked just fine, put a bucket over the nest, slid a piece of plywood underneath and wa-laa, one rat in a can. Now what to do with him? I got a couple of droppers full of MEK (methyl Ethel Keytone) and put him to sleep, so I thought after poking him with a stick. This was January, so I took him down to our dock and dumped the rat into the river to drown, he promptly swam away. Moral, don't underestimate the will to live even for a rat.

 

[zeehag]

rats and roaches will conquer the world!!! didnt you know that??? roaches can survive by eating wax from candles--rats eat anything they can --they dont mind plastic--might make a decent rotten movie at some point...

 

[Ted]

Miniature Sea Monster

Rats will do anything to get to their destination. I saw the results of a rat who tunneled under a building and entered a food storage room by chewing its way through a 6" thick concrete floor slab from below.

 

[Roger Long]

rats and roaches will conquer the world!!! didnt you know that???

Like I said, mini sea monster. I had no idea they could swim like that. My mooring is way out there. I don't think it got into the boat. It would have had to go through one of the Dorade vents. I was just on the boat full time for 12 days including some very quiet nights and I'm sure I would have heard something or seen some signs. The trash bin is open and was never disturbed.

 

[Ken13559]

I once had a rat stowaway onboard. Makes the boat smell of urine (ammonia?), droppings whereever it goes and chewed on my cutlery and plastic and stuff. Luckily no wiring fault. Caught of it with a rat trap (cage type) and cake of soap for bait. Rats can swim alright but couldn't scuba dive, so I found out.

 

[Gail R]

I've seen wharf rats in Portland and Down East near lobster wharves. Perhaps could have crawled up in there at a fuel dock? Saw a HUGE wharf rat swimming behind Harbor Fish about three months ago. Gave me pause about buying my fish at HF...I have never seen a swimming mouse, but rats yes..

It wasn't swimming, but I saw the biggest mouse I've ever seen on one of the Goslings last weekend. For the non-Mainiacs, the Goslings are a couple of small islands in Casco Bay. The hubby and I were just hiking around and this thing popped out of the undergrowth and startled me. I think I startled it, too, as it kind of froze for a second or two, then went on it way. It was definitely a mouse, not a rat (it was sort of cute and lacked the long, sturdy rat tail) but it was HUGE! Lots of apples and berries on the island, and I suspect it might occasionally get some leftovers from the people who camp and picnic there.

I can't imagine having one of those, or especially a rat, on the boat. Ick!

 

[Hermit Scott]

I know those teeth marks. My warehouse has a family of those "sea monsters". I was lying in the Vberth looking out across the marina at the dock lights at a restaurant when I saw one jump from companionway onto the counter. They are like little bread stealing ninjas.

 

[Ross]

Muskrats are rather large but mostly fresh water inhabitants. They look like a very large mouse. They aren't as agile as a rat or squirrel but they can swim like an otter.

 

[zeehag]

bubba snax

 

[Ross]

bubba snax

Bubba would have to work for that snax.

 

[zeehag]

bubba is fast and loves to hunt!!! sounds like a good job for the critter....keep him out of mischief--he tried to catch a portuguese water dog the other day.