Things that go TWANG

May 6, 2010
472
1984 Oday 39 79 Milwaukee
We were having coffee in the salon before heading out for a weekend trip on Saturday morning when we heard the kind of twang that occurs when something hits one of the shrouds or stays. I poked my head out but didn't see any passing boats (we are on a mooring) or anything else that could have caused the sound. A while later as I was getting ready to sail off the mooring, I looked up at the windex and noticed the indicator tabs were off center. Closer inspection revealed that the entire thing was bent forward and off center such that the arrow was catching on the vhf antenna! What the heck? The only thing I can imagine is a bird must have flown into it. Our departure was subsequently delayed by an hour while I went up the mast to straighten things out!
 

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Oct 9, 2008
1,739
Bristol 29.9 Dana Point
I've heard birds hit the shrouds at night.
On another dock years ago, we had a "pet" seagull named Bennie who would fly in for breakfast and dinner when we were on the boat.
One day he didn't fly in. He paddled in. Injured wing. I can only imagine he hit a shroud somewhere.
Took him a couple of months to regain flight. If it wasn't for us having him over for meals, he might have starved.
 
Jun 2, 2004
1,923
Oday Day Sailer Wareham, MA
I think I had a bird land on the "tacking arms" of my Windex last summer, somehow one arm got twisted/bent around so that the vane only worked on a starboard tack. Easy fix once I unstepped the mast before haulout, but it was rather odd sailing for that last month or so of the season! No problems this year, maybe the pieces of white shroud cover that I slipped over the arms helped, since they would loosely rotate around the arms. I long ago lost count of how many Spar-Fly vanes I replaced after a bird tried to land on the top! At least the first couple were replaced under warranty by DAVIS (that's customer service! I just filled out a form at their booth at the Newport, RI Boat Show that year, and about a week later a new vane arrived in my mailbox!). That was easy to replace on my old Widgeon, just pulled the boat up on shore, rolled her over enough to reach the masthead, and switched the vane. Not as easy on the DS II, but if I convert to a deck-stepped, hinged mast, it won't be hard. Can't really roll the DS II over with all the gear I keep aboard.