The Eagle Owl Aint Working

[epervier]

as Frost would say, who would own a boat like this?
could it be a forumite of this parish?

your covers are covered in bird,..sh...sh...sh...sh..........lime.

photo taken last Wednesday.

made it to the mill for lunch in the Mont.

 

[carlton]

There are several of those fake owls dotted around my marina. They're mounted quite high on top of the piles. The seagulls find them handy perches.

Someone on here suggested using a fake plastic snake. I tied a realistic looking snake on my canopy top. It worked for about two weeks, but on my next visit to the boat the snake looked as though the gulls had been trying to eat it.

I've given up - I'm now resigned to cleaning off the guano each time.

 

[oceanfroggie]

Those owls only work when mounted high. In that pic the owl is obscured from view as it's mounted so low down.

 

[sarabande]

these rotating devices work well on the farm, and I've been known to borrow one to hoist on a burgee halyard. About 12 inches across and they rotate in very little wind.

£9 from agriclutchural suppliers.

 

[andy59]

Thats a great photo right up at end of the river , i have never been brave enough to go all the way !!!! . How long did you have enough depth to keep her up there .

 

[AndieMac]

The various bird scare devices only seem to last (remain scary) for a few weeks, even the recorded sounds of a distressed gull has a limited effect.

Some folks use old CD's suspended every 1/2 metre on fishing line.
As the wind moves the disc, the sun reflects off the mirrored surface and is a constantly changing distraction to the birds, rather than a static object.

 

[dsw]

good old plastic bags do it for me ! a couple on the stern and one on the bow.

 

[jhr]

as Frost would say, who would own a boat like this?
could it be a forumite of this parish?

your covers are covered in bird,..sh...sh...sh...sh..........lime.

Someone of taste and distinction . The owl actually works reasonably well - most of the crud on the cover is mould from last winter and I haven't bothered too much about cleaning it up because a new tonneau cover is on the shopping list for this winter. Although the owl's not high up, it swings too and fro and the movement does seem to deter the sh!tehawks a bit.

The waterline looks a bit grotty - I've been away for a few weeks and the last time we went out was the last weekend in July, when a combination of the Solent chop and a heavy hand on the throttles cleaned things off a bit, looks as if I'd better repeat the dosage soon .

Nice mooring though, innit? Sometimes I just go down there and sit on the boat, with a cup of tea, sharing the view of my neighbours in the big houses and pondering how much more they pay for it than me It's one of the furthest moorings upriver. Everything dries out out at LW about 50yds above us......

 

[burgundyben]

Its a lovely spot.

It is a lovely spot to sit and pass the time.

 

[Geoffs]

It is a lovely spot to sit and pass the time.

But not for too long, tho'!

 

[Moonshiners]

We wern't too far from that mooring and never had a problem - at all, I think they must just resent certain brands/types/models. Seems to be hit and miss in the same area for different boats.

Would def agree that what ever is used as a deterent has to keep moving rather than appearing to be a dead snake (lunch).

 

[jhr]

When we first got the mooring, there was an abandoned Hurley a couple of boats downriver of us (she's now a permanent fixture in the car park at Buckler's Hard). Not only was she covered in guano, but there was a gull nesting on her foredeck; at least I've never had that!

We have a wide, white foredeck, so probably present a more desireable and visible target than the neighbouring boats. Getting the owl has definitely helped reduce the crappattacks, however.

 

[epervier]

Thats a great photo right up at end of the river , i have never been brave enough to go all the way !!!! . How long did you have enough depth to keep her up there .

high water that day was 1101 the photo was taken about 1130 enough time to have lunch in the Mont, but not a leisurely lunch of 3-4 hours, we went back down with the tide about 1315, I'd say about a 2 hour stand to be safe.

 

[andy59]

Thanks for the info , i may try it myself one day . When you drive past there at high tide it allways looks like a great spot to just be sat on the boat relaxing .