Trouble Keeping Birds Off Your Boat?

Keeping birds off your boat is a very common problem boat owners have. The way yachts are designed, they make for perfect floating nest opportunities or perfect places to perch, free from any predators found on the surrounding land. The masthead, spreaders, lifelines and boom are the perfect perching platform. The masthead, inside of the boom or on the deck of the yacht is often a perfect place to make a nest. If you’re leaving your yacht for an extended period of time, so it is important to set up bird deterrents to prevent nesting and dropping build up.

While the droppings from the birds can be cleaned with appropriate tools and cleaning agents, preventing them from landing on your yacht in the first place, is still your best chance of retaining the value of your yacht. With the addition of some useful products, the problems associated with unnecessary bird visits can be eradicated easily.

Here are some of the best recommendations that you can follow to keep birds off your precious yacht.

Wax the Boat

This recommendation does not truly deter birds from visiting, but this can help in maintaining the cleanliness of your boat. To protect your boat from bird droppings, you must have it waxed or polished regularly, so that the droppings can be removed easily. Waxing your boat can make its surface easier to clean. Doing this can also protect your boat from the effects of droppings, saltwater, scratches, UV rays or mill due and dirt build up. This necessary recommendation can complement all the products that you might want to use in keeping birds off.

Installing Bird Wires and Spikes

Most birds would want to stay on the mast and spreaders of your yacht since they can obtain a much greater view of their surroundings. Riggtech can install thin wires above the spreaders, from the outside stay/wire to the mast to prevent birds from landing on the spreaders and defecating on the yacht or covers. It is important to tension the wires tight and to dress the ends of the wire to prevent any sharp ends from damaging the halyards or sails when sailing.  The masthead can have a similar problem, but Riggtech can install plastic spikes or cable ties with long tails (acting as spikes) to prevent birds landing on the top of the masthead. Design solutions depend on the layout of lights, wind instruments or other aerials and electrical equipment at the masthead.

Reflective Objects

Another great way to prevent birds from visiting your yacht is through reflective objects, such as mirrors or CD disks. Reflective objects annoy and frustrate birds, because they affect their eyesight, which is a key sense they rely on to find food etc. For best results we recommend hanging the reflective objects on strings around the yacht in high sunlight areas, and so wind and movement of the yacht maximises the chance of reflecting sunlight into the birds’ eyes.

Other Simple Solutions

There are many other ways to prevent birds from landing or nesting on your yacht. One simple and cost-effective way is installing predatory objects on the yacht, such as fake owls, snakes or eagles on the deck, to make the birds perceive your yacht to be unsafe to land on.

Implementing objects that move is another bird deterrent, as it can confuse them and look difficult to land. There are a variety of different ways to do this; some include installing small flags along the lifelines of your yacht or spinning fan like products on the larger flat areas. The key to these types of detergents is using the wind to blow the flags or spinning fans to create movement.

Blocking up any holes big enough for a bird to fit through in the ends of the boom is a simple way to prevent birds from nesting inside it, especially smaller, Finch like birds. This can be done by stuffing an oversized sponge into the boom ends to ensure it stays in place. It is also important to make sure it doesn’t affect any of the lines in the boom, such as the outhaul or reefs when sailing. Netting is another method of keeping birds off the deck area of your yacht, as it prevents them landing and nesting in any of the sheltered or flat areas.

For more information on how to prevent birds from ruining your boat, feel free to contact us at Riggtech.

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