keeping bird doo-dahs of the pontoons

One of the jobs of the Race Team at our club is to scrub the pontoons every racing day to get the bird droppings off. Not the most pleasant of jobs, but it stops people from slipping on the pontoon when launching/recovery. No idea what type of brids it is that are shatting as I'm not a birdman (well feathered variety) but I assume it's some type of geese.

Any good ideas for a way of keeping them off - must take less time to remove than it takes to scrub the pontoons - i.e. netting whilst good isn't very practical.




Edited by laser4000

We have a rope rail around the pontoons about 6 inches above the deck and tensioned with bungy. The corner posts are in sockets so are easily removed before sailing and replaced after so it is not a trip hazard.

This provides just enough of an obsticle to prevent the geese hopping out of the water onto the pontoons, it is too low for them to go under. 

It works a treat.  Thank goodness geese are stupid.

 

We, and groups at our club, tried lots of methods .. from yellow warning/hazard tape suspended from poles along the pontoons, to rope, to all manner of other things.

Very soon people realised why there was still bird mess on the pontoons ..

They were just flying in, and landing on the grass BEHIND the yellow tape! The clever ones realised they could go around the tap by going round to the forn tof the club, jumping onto the shore there, and walking round.

Other than some automated sentry turrets (You could hook them up to webcams, and let people control them over the internet, fun for all the family!), or a pack of trained wolves, I don't think there are many ways of keeping the birds away, that doesnt involve lots of assembling / disasembling every time you come down to the club.

lay old club boats upside down on the pontoon, sorted

plastic OWL?

plastic FOX?

Swimming pool plastic cover on roller?