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this subject has been covered before, but there seems to be a few " new kids on the block", so I'll re-submit the solution to birds messing the deck when on swing moorings in high bird population areas.
where I moor, we have black swans, cormorants [ shags] seagulls, and ducks.
The answer is to run a light line from the forestay or furler at the bow at chest height [ half hitch on the forestay] straight down the middle of the , one loop around the mast cleat, continue down the line of the boom [6 inches above it] cleat again at the end of the boom, then continue on to the rear mast support. Takes less than a minute to run the line.
this becomes the support for two rolls of black mesh [ like fishing net] that can be bought from any hardware store. Normally used to keep birds off fruit trees.
Its normally bought 12 foot wide and of any length off the roll. $2 per metre,[ 3 ft] cut it lengthwise to 2 X 6 ft lengths.
Starting at the bow, fix one edge to the light line and the other to the gunnel. I use 4 inch lengths of velcro [ that can go over the line and down both sides of the mesh. Same with fixing to the life lines. Doesn't matter if its a bit loose and moves in the wind...adds to its effectiveness.
On departing the I fix the last few feet from the dinghy.
The birds just HATE it. They seem to know they could be caught by it.
Result...a continuous clean deck next time you go sailing. cost...minimal. Effort...a bit.
Its a lot more effective than rotating sweeps and solves the problem of having the mast and boom.
Hope this is of help. Puggsy

Our solution is a little more simple. Our covers are black. For some reason the birds seem to prefer blue and green. We have a blue covered boat on one side and a green on the other. They get ... "messed"... up and we stay clean. Of course they're power boats too, so maybe our birds are just sail friendly.


Terry

Puggsy, can you post a picture of your setup. Having a hard time visualizing. Birds crap all over my deck. I used to use one of those owls hoisted on the spinnaker halyard but it is completely innefective. Thx. L.

TAM wrote:Our solution is a little more simple. Our covers are black. For some reason the birds seem to prefer blue and green. We have a blue covered boat on one side and a green on the other. They get ... "messed"... up and we stay clean. Of course they're power boats too, so maybe our birds are just sail friendly.


Terry

I've heard of this before, Terry, but never have seen nor tried it. What I do is string thin fishing line across the bow and the cockpit from safety line to safety line, with old CD's strung over the line. The wind and the water move the CD's a little and that seems to work pretty well. The birds pooped on my owls when I had them

Rick

For Delevi...Here is the pic of the mesh...please excuse the shoddy furling of the jib....Every time I rig the mesh it comes out different...but as long as it covers, the birds stay off...



Tam said he uses a black cover/ tarp.. the problem with this is that to the birds it looks like a solid surface and they can walk around on it,,,and messing...
with the mesh, they realise it is not "walkable" so do not even land.
Another added trick is to place a coiled snake, plastic of course, in one corner of the cockpit. A bit out of sight. the birds do not get a clear view of it so avoid it... I have tried them in full view and the birds eventually realise they are not genuine. Smart birds...


Note in the second pic you can hardly see the mesh...but the black mark 1/3 up the furler shows where it is tied on with a rough half hitch....and at the stern you can just make out some more bunched up...

As I said...it works a treat...Puggsy

Thanks Puggsy. Nice looking blue Mac. Looks like a bit of work, but probably easier than scrubbing the deck.
cheers,
L.

Very nice looking boat but too much work, I think - - - I'll stick to my CD's. One thing I noticed at MDR, where there are a LOT of birds. the first year I was there, 2006, no one had a problem with bird poop - - - the second year, 2007, EVERYONE had a problem??? Huh?

Rick

There are so many different schemes and actually, I am of the mentality that nothing really works!


Disney uses a hig frequencey 'stress' signal it uses which seems to work a little bit, but they can only use it for 15 minutes out of the day because PETA says that is the limit.

In my marina it is so bad that if you slip on the cross dock dearest the lake shore itself, extpect a bout an inch of 'poultry seasoning' on your boat in a 24 period.

A fellah who claimed to solve the problem was hired on but failed. All he did was to camp out for a bout a week or so shooting at the black birds, posting promise that his method would not harm boats. It was an old idea which shooting 20 gauge bird shot all day/night long at birds that flocked nearby.

The only thing that did was to fatten-up a bunch of alligators who started to hang around waiting for another batch of birds to hit the drink. LOL. True story. But it did nothing about stopping the flocks of black birds looking to crap on fiberglass. In fact, I believe it enhanced it all.

Big T

I believe they use a gas exploder to chase the birds away at my new marina.
These devices have a timer that primes a metal tube with some natural gas or propane and then ignites it. The birds are startled and fly away for a while.

The timing has to be infrequent enough so they don't get used to it.

The marina also has a lot of string or twine strung around the covered boat slips that the birds avoid like the plague.

an exploder is shown here

http://www.margosupplies.com/american1/index.html

A shotgun works, also - - - if your aim is good

Rick

I've used the propane cannons in my orchards for starling control and they work quite well, although they tend to annoy your human neighbors. Mine were completely mechanical. A regulator valve allowed gas to fill a small chamber, while raising a striker arm with a diaphragm. When the arm reached a certain level, it triggered a release valve that transferred the gas to the firing chamber and dropped the arm, sparking a flint and igniting the gas. Kaboom.

~Rich

Bangs and explosions on a regular basis...in a marina...???

That's not too neighbourly....

Try the mesh....silent and 100% effective.

Puggsy

I had a problem at my marina this past summer with swallows nesting under the docks and spending a lot of time "socializing" on my boat. A package of 6" aluminum pie tins which I hung around on the lifelines, fore stay, and topping lift using light fishing line worked very well. The aluminum would spin and flash as the breeze blew or wavelets moved the boat around, and the birds didn't like that at all. After a few weeks I tied each of the plates to a clothespin for quicker setup/takedown. I lost a few to thunderstorms, but the cost of replacement is maybe 50 cents, so it's bearable Of course my boat took on a bit of the look of my Dad's old bean patch...

Andy

Andy - - - That's similiar to the CD's I string between the lifelines - - - - but that's a good idea - - - I should also string them ON the lifelines (easy enough) and I will start doing that. Thanks for the idea. This is an example of having an answer to a problem right in your hand and not realizing how to implement it!! (I had the CD's and the lifelines but I strung the CD's across instead of both across and along the safety lines).

Rick

There was an article in one of the sailing mags reciently about using old cds and having the kids decorate them to look like fish and other animals by glueing heads legs and fins along the edges. Might make the bean patch look a little cuter. Maybe someone else will remember the mag and issue.