Birds in the boom
Sailors have a long history of co-existence with birds, whether albatrosses, boobies, cormorants or whatever. At sea, avian species seem to be our friends but it’s a slightly different picture in harbour where we regularly curse their mess on our vessels.
On a one-month Aegean charter, we ran up against another problem - birds trying to nest in booms. Every time we moored up in a tiny Greek Island harbour in our Elan 38, it was only a matter of minutes before sparrows would make for the ends of our boom, importing twigs, leaves and man-made marine detritus. I don’t know whether we were pursued by one determined sparrow family across the sea between the widely-spaced islands (Kalimnos, Tilos, Nisyros), or whether, as seemed more likely, this is an ingrained habit of Greek island sparrows.
Should one just accept this infestation in one’s boom? The problem is that it will inevitably start to foul lines running through the structure. We removed the mess with a hooked coat-hanger and wondered how to prevent the problem. Whilst there are many articles on ways of deterring birds from using one's boat, there seems to be little written on preventing birds nesting in the boom. Moreover, manufacturers don't seem to provide removable end caps, an obvious solution. Some sailors use duct tape but the best solution I've come across is to squirt a generous dollop of expanding foam over the opening, allowing it to set and hey presto, one then has a removable, well-fitting boom cap. So it’s a visit to the builders’ merchant before our next Mediterranean meander! Peter Mahaffey