how to clean bird poop off deck

Starfish · Post by **Starfish** » May 11th, '11, 15:22

Hi Folks,

Every year, we encounter a huge clean up project. We summer in Truro, and moor our CD 25 in Provincetown Harbor. Every Labor Day, the migratory birds arrive and just LOVE hanging out on our boat! We have tried all types of bird-discouraging devices, but nothing works. There must have been 40 birds perched on her last fall, and what a mess!!!!!

So, although we pressure washed the boat, and tried to clean her, stains remain on the deck/topsides. We've used West Marine's potions but there are still stains that are not coming off.

We would appreciate any advice, besides sitting on the boat and swatting the birds off 24/7, that may help keep them off, and what might we use to clean off the boat?

Thanks!!

tartansailor · Post by **tartansailor** » May 11th, '11, 17:57

Barkeepers Friend has Oxalic acid and that works best in my experience,
being moored next to a wild life preserve with 10 billion birds.
It will not harm gel coat.
Best to let it soak for about a half hour, then hose off.
Dick

Starfish · Post by **Starfish** » May 12th, '11, 14:36

Hi Dick,

Thank you so much for your quick reply. I happen to have some of that stuff around and will try it on the boat tomorrow.

It will sure be great to have cleaned off, but how to prevent the birds from perching on the boat again this coming fall???

Oswego John · Post by **Oswego John** » May 12th, '11, 16:05

Every Labor Day, the migratory birds arrive and just LOVE hanging out on our boat! We have tried all types of bird-discouraging devices, but nothing works.
We would appreciate any advice, besides sitting on the boat and swatting the birds off 24/7, that may help keep them off.

For those who live on their boat or frequent it often, there is a way to cut down on the amount of bird waste, if not prevent it completely.

I'm not talking about the plastic owls or snakes which I have heard are next to useless. Wind driven whirlygigs have had some success.

Years back, I had a friend who lived on his boat. Bird poop drove him up the wall, especially seagull droppings. He remedied the problem by keeping two live-aboard barn cats. The cats worked for their bread and butter as well as being the owners buddies.

I don't have a clue if it was the mere presence of the live cats that kept the birds away, or what. He seemed to be happy with the results.

It goes without saying that you can't keep a live animal on board 24/7 when you go away for a week and then return on weekends.

And then, again, life presents another tradeoff if you follow the live pet aboard plan. Which is more objectional to you, bird splatters all over your boat or the pungent odor of a litter pan.

Nothing in life is easy.

O J

jneely · Post by **jneely** » May 15th, '11, 08:28

A number of years ago I had a problem with cormorants. It took me 45 minutes of hard scrubbing each day to get the boat clean enough to sail. The next spring while the mast was down I rigged a piece if stainless wire in a fore and aft arch at the masthead. To this I attached four six inch plastic wire ties using that special rigging tape that molds onto itself. They have been up for about six years and when checked last week they seemed good for at least another year. I also fastened a number of the wire ties to the spreaders with the points facing up. I space them about five inches apart. No need to tape them if you can pull them snug enough to stay in place on their own. Once in awhile one or two will droop down over the course of a season, but usually enough stay correctly positioned to get the job done. This is not an elegant looking solution, but it has completely prevented the cormorants and gulls from roosting on my boat. I can sometimes go weeks without seeing any bird droppings on the deck.

The owls and other plastic critters meant to deter our avian friends are pretty much useless. I once saw a cormorant roosting on a plastic owl on a boat that was pretty much covered with bird S__t.

mahalocd36 · Post by **mahalocd36** » May 15th, '11, 12:55

We found somethng that seemed to work - hanging old CDs (compact discs or DVDs) from lines from the boom, backstay, etc.

Some last longer than others....but if it has a 'shiny' side and moves with the wind/waves it seems to keep them away.

seajunkie · Post by **seajunkie** » May 16th, '11, 01:02

I used heavy line from a weed wacker and strung it all over the boat including a few inches above the boom. I had some success with that. the CD's were helpful, but only lasted me a few months.

M. R. Bober · Post by **M. R. Bober** » May 16th, '11, 06:26

Starfish wrote:Hi Folks,

Every year, we encounter a huge clean up project. We summer in Truro, and moor our CD 25 in Provincetown Harbor. Every Labor Day, the migratory birds arrive and just LOVE hanging out on our boat! We have tried all types of bird-discouraging devices, but nothing works. There must have been 40 birds perched on her last fall, and what a mess!!!!!

So, although we pressure washed the boat, and tried to clean her, stains remain on the deck/topsides. We've used West Marine's potions but there are still stains that are not coming off.

We would appreciate any advice, besides sitting on the boat and swatting the birds off 24/7, that may help keep them off, and what might we use to clean off the boat?

Thanks!!

Try this: http://www.capedory.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=28515

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Lancaster (Where we, obviously, never overlook the obvious.), VA

Starfish · Post by **Starfish** » May 18th, '11, 15:09

Hi Everyone,

Thanks again for all of the good ideas and info. Unfortunately, due to this weather system here on Cape Cod, it's been raining for quite some time, so I haven't been able to play with the bird poop stains for a while.

I do intend on trying that Bar Keeper's Friend, when (if ever) the rains end!! If that doesn't work, I was considering using some compound? I don't know how much of this an aging CD's gel coat can take, but for now, I hope to get her looking clean for this season.

As for keeping the birds off........we have rigged all kinds of things, all over the boat. Even put up flapping code flags along the lifelines, but nothing seemed to work. Perhaps by Labor Day, when the birds come to visit, I'll move the boat to another location, and keep my fingers crossed!!!

Thanks again, for the good advice!

Joe Myerson · Post by **Joe Myerson** » May 18th, '11, 16:01

Starfish,

Like you, I used to have to spend 45 minutes battling with cormorant droppings whenever I visited my boat. It was so bad that I nearly sold my boat after one season.

Then a neighbor, who works at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told me that cormorants and most other birds won't alight on a perch that gives way under them.

Based on his suggestion, I constructed a "false yardarm" out of PVC pipe. I've since added a second "yardarm" underneath the first. The pieces of plastic pipe are mounted on a yoke of line, with another length of line as a downhaul. I hoist them on my halyard, forward of and a few inches above the spreaders whenever I leave the boat.

If a cormorant decides to land on the pipe, it rocks under the bird's weight, and the feathered poop generator usually flies away.

Last season, I tried using a thin wire to discourage birds--but after a couple of messy cleanups, I went back to the false yardarms.

WARNING: This system does not discourage young osprey, which perch on my Windex every September (when they leave the nest), bending and breaking the thing, and leaving a coating of fishguts and droppings that almost make me nostalgic for cormorant droppings.

This year I plan to forgo the Windex and mount a short length of Bird-Ex plastic spikes on my masthead.

Good luck!

--Joe

Duncan · Post by **Duncan** » May 18th, '11, 16:12

Joe Myerson wrote:...This year I plan to forgo the Windex and mount a short length of Bird-Ex plastic spikes on my masthead....

Does the Windex with a bird spike work?

Starfish · Post by **Starfish** » May 19th, '11, 08:44

Joe,

I am holding my sides, in laughter. Thanks for making a rather annoying and disgusting seasonal event into something that I can laugh at (well, at least now, but maybe not so much come Labor Day).

Linda

Joe Myerson · Post by **Joe Myerson** » May 19th, '11, 11:10

Duncan:

I've never tried that model Windex (and I might do so), but I've also got to put something on the masthead--and somebody just gifted me a length of Bird-X, which is a very scary thing indeed.

--Joe

Jim Davis · Post by **Jim Davis** » May 19th, '11, 11:43

I find the VHF antenna does well on my main so the Windex with the rod should work. For my mizzen it is a bit different. I have had an Osprey actually ride up there while I was under way (power, not sailing). To prevent further use as a passenger seat I installed a large sail needle at the truck. They do try to land, but they do not stay.

Kquist · Post by **Kquist** » May 25th, '11, 17:19

We are at a mooring in East Greenwich, RI. All summer long we watched the birds roosting on all the neighboring boats and covering them with messy gifts. We had no issues at all with the birds. We have a Schipperke with a very big mouth. He loves the boat and hates the birds. What a great combination!

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