tcm
...
IMHO, birds poo on the boat when they are perched on it - the number of birds on the wing which manage to hit a boat is v small. So most bird pooing is done whilst you are away from the boat, and whilst birds perch on the thing.
My tests so far have been with a balcony in central london, and with a powerboat. For the flat , i simply rigged just three pieces of string at a high level which foils their flying-in area. Result - no nice landing zone for the birds and hence no more bird pooh on the balcony.
For the boat, I run strings from a forward flagstaff on the pulpit at the bow down to various points on the guardrails. I run other strings from the radar mast down to stern rails. I could keep these on all year, but it's only needed for autumn really.
For a sailing boat, the same thing can be done, i think : first make a sort of "cat o' ninetails" from thinnish cheap string or I suppose fishing line. Take several (as many as you like) long pieces of string/line each about as high as your mast. Tie them all together at one end in some bodgy knot, and raise the lot up a spare halyard. Then pick out each line and tie it to somewhere on the guardrails bow stern and sides.
Don't bring the lines straight down - deter birds from flying through/close and landing on spreaders by taking a line around a spreader/shroud on stbd side (say) then forward around genoa perhaps and tying dwon to the port side for example, making a bit of an aerial "web" - and one which deters birds because it is not so easy for them to see/fly around as the thick lines/shrouds which support the mast.
For this reason, *thin* string (kite string is long, strong and plentiful) which the birds only see at the last minute is the key- they can allow for thick shrouds and the mast, for example. V thin garden wire is also good, tho more expensive and harder to store it's less prone to tangles.
They realise that your boat has tricky last-minute hazards and stay away. You won't kill the bids - they learn to stay away very quickly!
There doesn't need to be loads and loads of lines - one every few metres will deter them from landing. About ten for a 35 footer i think wd be fine. But of course, the more the merrier, as many as you can be bothered putting up i suppose! For the flat, i put quite a few lines up to start but eventually found that i needed fewer, so perhaps there's an element of training the birds to avoid your boat, and for your boat to stop being favourite spot as they "do their rounds" - after which only a few are needed.
Advanced users will be able to work some clever routine perhaps with elastics+hook tied to the lower end so the lines can all be rigged/derigged from guardrails in a few minutes.
As always, i wd love to hear of any success stories with this. I got nowhere at all with cd's or owls - the real deterent is making flying/landing on your your boat physically risky/painful for a bird on the wing looking for a perch.
My tests so far have been with a balcony in central london, and with a powerboat. For the flat , i simply rigged just three pieces of string at a high level which foils their flying-in area. Result - no nice landing zone for the birds and hence no more bird pooh on the balcony.
For the boat, I run strings from a forward flagstaff on the pulpit at the bow down to various points on the guardrails. I run other strings from the radar mast down to stern rails. I could keep these on all year, but it's only needed for autumn really.
For a sailing boat, the same thing can be done, i think : first make a sort of "cat o' ninetails" from thinnish cheap string or I suppose fishing line. Take several (as many as you like) long pieces of string/line each about as high as your mast. Tie them all together at one end in some bodgy knot, and raise the lot up a spare halyard. Then pick out each line and tie it to somewhere on the guardrails bow stern and sides.
Don't bring the lines straight down - deter birds from flying through/close and landing on spreaders by taking a line around a spreader/shroud on stbd side (say) then forward around genoa perhaps and tying dwon to the port side for example, making a bit of an aerial "web" - and one which deters birds because it is not so easy for them to see/fly around as the thick lines/shrouds which support the mast.
For this reason, *thin* string (kite string is long, strong and plentiful) which the birds only see at the last minute is the key- they can allow for thick shrouds and the mast, for example. V thin garden wire is also good, tho more expensive and harder to store it's less prone to tangles.
They realise that your boat has tricky last-minute hazards and stay away. You won't kill the bids - they learn to stay away very quickly!
There doesn't need to be loads and loads of lines - one every few metres will deter them from landing. About ten for a 35 footer i think wd be fine. But of course, the more the merrier, as many as you can be bothered putting up i suppose! For the flat, i put quite a few lines up to start but eventually found that i needed fewer, so perhaps there's an element of training the birds to avoid your boat, and for your boat to stop being favourite spot as they "do their rounds" - after which only a few are needed.
Advanced users will be able to work some clever routine perhaps with elastics+hook tied to the lower end so the lines can all be rigged/derigged from guardrails in a few minutes.
As always, i wd love to hear of any success stories with this. I got nowhere at all with cd's or owls - the real deterent is making flying/landing on your your boat physically risky/painful for a bird on the wing looking for a perch.
