Conference unifix::sailing

    On the Merrimac in Newburyport we don't get Seagulls but the Artic tern
    migration, for about the month of August into September. Unfortunately
    the terns are less reticent than the Seagulls, and nothing seems to
    work all the time. For prevention some use flags/or streamers in the
    belief that their movement in the wind will spook the birds. I can
    attest this does not work all the time but it's better than nothing. It
    is especially important that you have a line of streamers over the
    boom, and lifelines, or any other horizontal surface that they can
    alight on. 
    
    Others have used netting. A coarse netting is preferable, since those
    that used a fine netting have had the problem of the birds getting
    stuck in the netting an dying there which leaves a bigger mess. 
    
    Owls and rubber snakes don't seem to have any effect, although some
    have used colorful stuffed animals swinging in the breeze with some
    limited success. 
    
    The only thing that worked reliably was somebody left a cat on their
    boat, before the MSPCA intervened. 
    
    On the subject of cleaning up after they have hit the boat, our yacht
    club makes available a pressure sprayer (affectionately known as the
    Guano blaster) which will remove most of the material but which will
    still leave some light brown staining behind. At this point I use in
    the following order, Simple Green, Soft Scrub, and then straight bleach
    to remove the staining, although sometimes, just leaving it out in the
    rain and sun will bleach the stain out if most of the fecal material
    hase been removed. 
    
    If you ever find a sure-fire way of keeping the birds off the boats
    you can make a mint in Newburyport.
    
    /jim

    I suggest a bag of 13 toads livers (dried) hung from the mast head
    light.  This (the hanging) must be done during a full moon with
    the words "Baa-gooon, Carra-doon, samma,damma,ding dong" repeated
    at least ten times.  This has worked for me since first used back
    in 1955.   
    
    

    I have a friend who has no engine on his boat. Thus no need for
    a masthead light.  Where does he hang the bag of toad livers?
    
    I find that strewing the boats nearby regularly with fish heads
    keeps them interested elsewhere.
    

    The port spreader worked well on a Blotchcromfpt 23.  This is only
    hearsay...I've stuck to the tried and true.

    
    .3>  I find that strewing the boats nearby regularly with fish heads
    .3>  keeps them interested elsewhere.
    
       Oh, that explains it! About two weeks ago I went out to my boat
    and was doubly cursed (blessed?). As the launch approached the boat,
    I was able to see a huge seagull (or other winged creature) perched
    comfortably atop the canvas which covers the helm. The bird didn't
    even fly off until I walked onto the boat.
    
       Then, in the cockpit of the boat (which I leave uncovered), I
    found a dead fish (honest!), significantly decomposed. Silly me,
    I thought a seagull had dropped it, but, given the excerpt above,
    I suspect foul play. I'll have to seek out the cleanest neighboring
    boat (no doubt the culprit) and toss a few fish over -- an eye for
    an eye, ya know?   :-)
    
    
       Seriously though, I wonder if color might have something to do
    with it. I have a white deck and white canvas, and both get liberal
    doses of seagull #2, whereas a friend of mine has off-white deck
    and dark brown canvas -- his boat stays relatively clean.
    

    Re remedies described earlier...
    
       I've seen some boats with owls and other ridiculous looking props
    on their boats, but they don't seem to have any long-term effect.
    Others use a wind-vane type contraption which appears to work only
    in strong winds.
    
       I noticed two boats last week that use course-mesh netting and
    they seem to be relatively spotless. I plan on giving this a try
    at the latest opportunity. (With my luck, the gulls around here
    will start target practice using the openings in the netting!)
    
    
    Frank
    

    
    I sail in a fishing town called Skerries, north of Dublin. Seagulls
    have become a real problem in the past few years, with the raiding
    of bins and scavenging in public waste tips becoming as much a part
    of the seagull habit as eating fish is. The fishing  boats attract     
    gulls in droves and they will perch on anything and everything while
    feeding. These seagulls are so good at making a mess that they can
    even hit the downstairs windows of houses, not to mention the 
    occasional tourist !  
    
    Most of the boats in the sailing club are  clinker built 3 - man
    boats, usually with very nice varnished decks. The cleanest boat
    in the harbour is one which has a complete nylon cover on it -
    which fits over the boom and covers all the decks and the cockpit.
    This has the added benefit of keeping the sun off your nice decks
    and the rain out of your boat.
    
    The problem of #2 is alas simply transferred to your cover - which
    now takes the brunt of the airborne attack. They can still perch
    on the covered boom and #2 to their heart's content ! 
    Covers make getting aboard from a launch quite difficult - especially
    if there is any sort of a chop. Taking the cover off can also be
    a yuckie experience -  given what you are likely to find stuck to
    it !
    
    Nets provide a cheaper solution and are quite effective - you also
    avoid the problem of getting your hands dirty in removing it. As
    for streamers, toads livers and inflatable owls - forget it - they
    just will not work - unless your local breed of seagull is severely
    retarded or completely stupid.
    
    Ever thought of electrifying your standing rigging ?
    
    Fel.
           

    I recently went down to the boat expecting a nice sail but instead
    spent the day cleaning my boat from all of the droppings.  A neighbor
    next to me said that they always use TILEX (sp?) bathroom tile cleaner
    with great results.  Haven't tried it yet but I think I will next
    time.

    
    in an earlier note on cleaning gelcoat, somebody mentioned that
    very hot water and a dense brush work as well as and possibly
    better than many cleansing lotions, is less abrasive, and is free.
    
    i tried it, and i'm slightly embarassed to admit how well it
    works.  in that note it was suggested thay you use a "nail brush",
    but i used a moderately stiff bathtub brush with plastic bristles
    and it worked great.  i've never tried getting off the stains from
    dead fish thrown on board though...
    
       - jim
    

    Instead of fish heads we use the sandwiches left over from what
    the crew doesn't eat.  Works just as well and no tell-tale bones
    to give you away.  If we could only teach seagulls to eat beer cans.
    
    Dave

    I watched a "nature" special the other night where two naturalists
    were robbing perrigrine falcons' nests. They had obtained permission
    to take two young ones from a national forest and found a nest with
    three and took two.
    
    They were getting them end training them to scare off the gulls
    and "gooney" birds from the ends of landing strips in the South
    Pacific. According to the commentator gulls and "gooney" birds would
    flee in fear at the sight or even shadow of a falcon. I guess they
    were easy prey for them.
    
    Anyway, wouldn't it be nice if marina owners would put them around
    as "watchdogs"? I'm certain they would not starve in that environment.
    
    Just thoughts,
    
    Bob

    I have been retained as a consultant by the ASA (American Seacreature
    Association) to work on people antidotes.  Any suggestions?  They
    don't like how we're crudding up their world.  

    RE .10
    
    Are you nuts?  Have you ever tried to clean falcon dung off
    your deck?  There may be less quantity, but it is tenacious!!
    I got some on my binoculars three years ago and I still have
    a splotch on the lens that looks like Rose Island. Iv'e run
    aground twice off Fort Adams trying to avoid Rose!
    
    Don,  who keeps a Manatee tethered in the cockpit.

    
        The folks next to me are not what I consider sailors. I think I
    saw them on the boat 1 time, but, who knows, it could have been
    burglers. 
    
        Anyhow, these quiz-kids are also a bit lazy. They have their anchor
    attached to the bow pulput, but putting the anchor rode through that
    deck opening was much too much work for them. Instead, they coiled it and
    dropped it on top of the deck. Through handy, it could easily fall over
    the side and become tangled with any of us in the surrounding area.
    
        Anyhow, I notice the last couple of times that this really BIG 
    seagull has turned the coil into a fine nest. And the rest of thier
    deck is now a large outhouse....

It seems to me that you are killing two birds with one stone (er rode).

Bird #1 will be disgusted with the results of bird #2's toilet facilities.  
Hence bird #1 will cease keeping the boat in bird #2's neighborhood.  Problem
of tangled rode now solved.

Bird #2 will have lost the beautiful nest, with the poor outhouse.  Bird #2
will leave in search of better digs, esp with winter coming.

On second thought, perhaps you want bird #1 to keep the boat nest to you.  Sort
of a seagull decoy for your boat.  You could then buy a REALLY BIG fan to blow
billions and billions of seagull guano aroma AWAY from you.

Seriosuly, I noticed that my boat received very little attention from sea gulls 
either in Woods Hole or Manchester.  I have teak decks. No nice white deck,
looking like birds have pooped on it before.  And propably more significantly, I
have a fair amount of standing rigging on my ketch.  This probably makes landing
approaches easier on the light white decked sloop next to me.

Doug

    Well, Tuesday I went over to my boat to prepare it for a long ride
    home. Just what was all over my forward deck? You guessed it!
    
    This is only the 2nd time in 2 years I had to clean up my deck because
    of droppings (don't think I am a lucky man, the powerplant drops enough
    ash and sulfer on board to make sure I remember which end of a scrub
    brush does the cleaning).
    
    I am not sure if it is the fact there are only 5 boats left in the harbor,
    the clean topsides were too tempting, for the pesky critters have been
    reading this notes file..  ;>)
    
    Traces of the Alfred Hitchcock's movie plot "the birds"

John, I think the 5 boats thing has a lot to do with it.


I had absolutly no problem all season until the first of October when the 
neighboring boats started to disapear. Then I get my share.

Just think less that 6 months to lauch date.

Fred

    We commented on Jerry's plastic owl on his boat in from of ours, asking
    how well it worked in keeping seagulls off his deck. He said "They
    pooped right on the owl!"
    
    

    In Auckland I saw several boats with nets all over them.  Looked like
    a bit of work to set up each time, except for the 42 foot sloop with
    the mast hacksawed off at the deck....
    
    Another technique was to run lines of cheap shock cord from the the
    mast to various locations on the boat, usually the life lines. They
    then tied 10" strips of plastic non stick tape (the kind civil engineers
    use in the woods) every foot of so along each piece.
    
        john

    Unfortunately, I have 2 boats, one has been for sale for a long time.
    
    Last year I had both of the boats in the water beside each other, one
    had a windex and VHF antenna on the masthead and the other didnt.  The
    boat with the windex and antenna had no gull problems whatsoever, the
    other one suffered from the attentions of gulls that had been eating
    pink sea urchins and blue-blueberries.
    
    I believe that just the windex is sufficient to keep them off the top
    of the mast - thats all that seems to be needed.

    Laughing.......yep, saw one of those last year. On the powerboat
    transom across the way.  Made a great duck nest for the mama mallard to
    raise up her brood.  Hatched the eggs in the coiled up part.