Bird Protection

[Monterey385]

Plastic Spikes on Spreader, Stainless Steel Spikes on Spreader, Repeller 360 on Boom, Bird Spider on Deck, all of the above, some of the above ... or something completely different?

We will be in a slip at a dock 80% of the time and a mooring 20% of the time. The slip is currently all power boats and we will be the only sailboat. We want to protect the canvas and deck. We're located on the Jersey Shore and deal with sea gulls and coumerants from time to time depending on the season.

Spoke to Bird-B-Gone and they recommended the Repeller 360 and advised against the spikes on the spreaders (unless or until we know that we certainly have a bird problem).

We are currently a motor yacht so we have no basis to know whether we will even have a problem. Biggest issues now are ducks and swans on swim platforms.

Any suggestions / thoughts?

 

[MattObjects]

We keep our boat on a mooring in the Upper Chesapeake, where birds are quite plentiful. We have had ospreys leave the remains of a 2 foot carp on our foredeck and had a blue heron thoroughly befoul our stern while strolling back and forth across our our bimini cover. It is not uncommon for sailors here to return to their boats to find ducks nesting in their coaming boxes.

The captain of the boat one mooring over from us has rigged up an elaborate net system that stretches from the mast to the helm station and that he says keeps birds off of the boat but I have not gone that route because it looks hideous, creates extra windage, and is a huge hassle to put up or take down.

We have found that most birds will avoid boats with things that are moving and/or that are making noise. For this purpose, Dollar Store pinwheels work really well and can be placed on the bimini cover, at the steering pedestal, along the boom, etc. We have also kept birds off of the boom by running a piece of line from the mast to the topping lift, about 5" above the boom, with shiny pieces of ribbon tied to the line every foot or so. Beyond that, I would invest in a good wash down pump before I put more money into bird deterrants. I definitely would not put spikes on my spreaders as that sounds like a really good way to tear up your sails.

 

[Capt jgw]

If you have a spinnaker, don't put spikes anywhere. You can just about guarantee the sail will find them. And they probably won't work that well anyway.

 

[gfrazzle]

I stretched stainless wire from the mast to the shrouds about 2" above the spreaders which has been an effective deterrent. I have tried several products to keep birds off of the canvas/ deck- the bird spider has been most effective.

 

[RobG]

Working well for me and my mooring neighbors.

http://www.groworganic.com/bird-scare-tape-rainbow-500-roll.html

I attached lengths of this to small strips of Velcro to attach anywhere I needed and to a line running above the boom. Rig them so they blow in the breeze above where the birds like to land and stand. We were getting killed by Terns by the dozens and this has worked well for three seasons. This year I didn't put them up when I didn't see any birds thinking they had moved on. I was wrong. Since I put them back up no birds will even land on my boat. They go for the others that don't have these up. Much less expensive than the devices in your list.

 

[dhays]

The bird spider looks like it might work well in my situation for my bimini.

I have seen folks use plastic zip ties on their spreaders to provide cheap "spikes". I am tempted to give that a try as well.

 

[McIntoshUSA]

The best thing I have found to deter birds is a small flag at the top of the mast. I made mine permanent. My neighbor pulled his up with his halyard and then later made it permanent.

 

[Kermit]

As a big fan of birds (even the frog-eating kinds) I'm highly in favor of deterrents. Although we are legally bound to protect them we are under no obligation to provide roosting space. I recently put a line from the mast to the end of my boom after finding all sorts of bird crap all over my boat. I haven't done anything with the bimini or wheel, yet. I'm glad to see the pinwheel and reflective mylar suggestions.

 

[Capt jgw]

The blueberry farmers around here have good luck with shiny mylar streamers hanging around the bushes. Drives the birds nuts.
Remember the old days when we had yarn tell tales on the shrouds to see the apparent wind? Just make them shiny mylar. A farm supply store should have the material, or cut up a shiny balloon of you have one.

 

[sailnoproblem]

I am in a slip in the Toms River, and did have a little problem with birds my first year. I fly a flag off the spreader for the past 3 years and it works fine.