I have a Hunter 410 and have had regular and extensive bird mess on the deck and bimini from gulls and comorants. I had been in the same harbor not far away with a Sabre 28 and never had one problem. I figure its the wide spreaders of the Hunter that make for good purchase for the birds. I've tried the plastic owl with no positive results. Any ideas besides a shotgun? Is there something you can put on the spreaders to keep them off? Tx, Ken
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wire
Run a thin metal or nylon wire from the mast to the shroud a few inches above the spreaders. It'll be too thin for the birds to stand on and will get in the way if they try to stand on the spreaders.
Run a thin metal or nylon wire from the mast to the shroud a few inches above the spreaders. It'll be too thin for the birds to stand on and will get in the way if they try to stand on the spreaders.
Two lines of plastic Pennants....
run from the mast head. One to the bow and one to the stern. It works and the pennants are available from West Marine for a few bucks. Ok, now who's been feeding the flying rats all those blue berries!
Greg
run from the mast head. One to the bow and one to the stern. It works and the pennants are available from West Marine for a few bucks. Ok, now who's been feeding the flying rats all those blue berries!
GregAn old CD
Last year we tried hanging an old CD from the boom, and a few other places, to keep the birds away. It has worked better than anything so far. The rest of the marina has also joined the crusade. The shiny flashing seems to keep them at bay. The other bird who was not frighted away were the Cedar Waxwings----so who knows---what works for us may NOT work for you. But I'd try anything!
Last year we tried hanging an old CD from the boom, and a few other places, to keep the birds away. It has worked better than anything so far. The rest of the marina has also joined the crusade. The shiny flashing seems to keep them at bay. The other bird who was not frighted away were the Cedar Waxwings----so who knows---what works for us may NOT work for you. But I'd try anything!
Bird chasing program
It's a whole "program" 'cause just using one thing won't work! Check out Boat/US catalogue under bird deterrents. We use the Gull Sweep on top of the bimini, on the "bean-bag" base, and since it turns with the wind, no bird comes near. Add the inflatable snakes, scare-eye balloons and the owl, and you have a mine field for the birds. But to keep them off the boom, get a roll of metalized ribbon (package wrapping stuff and run it from the mast to the aft end of the boom, 4-6 inches above the sail cover. If you have a Dutchman, it's particularly easy to clip it to each control line with flag/pennant clips. Maybe I'll add the CDs though... sounds great! I never found a way to keep them off the spreaders, though from which they take aim at the deck, but Doug's wire idea sounds great too.
It's a whole "program" 'cause just using one thing won't work! Check out Boat/US catalogue under bird deterrents. We use the Gull Sweep on top of the bimini, on the "bean-bag" base, and since it turns with the wind, no bird comes near. Add the inflatable snakes, scare-eye balloons and the owl, and you have a mine field for the birds. But to keep them off the boom, get a roll of metalized ribbon (package wrapping stuff and run it from the mast to the aft end of the boom, 4-6 inches above the sail cover. If you have a Dutchman, it's particularly easy to clip it to each control line with flag/pennant clips. Maybe I'll add the CDs though... sounds great! I never found a way to keep them off the spreaders, though from which they take aim at the deck, but Doug's wire idea sounds great too.
Correction
Sorry, the bird deterrent ads are in the West Marine catalogue, not the Boat/US one, in the Dock Accessories section.
Sorry, the bird deterrent ads are in the West Marine catalogue, not the Boat/US one, in the Dock Accessories section.
Dead bird
A simple but gross way is to kill one of the birds and hang it from one of your spreaders. Sad but true.
A simple but gross way is to kill one of the birds and hang it from one of your spreaders. Sad but true.
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