NOT Sailing Northern Ireland - Boat upgrades - Bird poop - Useful hacks - Ep. 363

[@thetraveller869]

Regards bird poop I share your pain! A few months ago we had a seagull nest on the house roof! It produced 2 eggs which hatched and time passed. One sad day we found the first chick dead in the garden so apparently it discovered a little late that its lack of feathers mattered! Then its sibling appeared on the lower roof at the back. Unfortunately it broke its wing in that descent so although it lived on the roof for a number of weeks it couldn’t fly properly. Eventually it glided to the ground at the back of the house where we captured it and had it collected to visit the vet. Apparently it couldn’t be fixed so sadly was put to sleep. All of which left us with a dramatically whitened roof - which we share with next door. I found that a patio cleaner attachment on a pressure washer dealt with most of it and white vinegar removed the most stubborn areas… We now have a VERY clean back roof!! 😁

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

We have rescued birds on occasion as well and it rarely ends well. Someone did point out to us that a pair of starlings (or maybe larks??? Can't remember) lives for 8 years and has several chicks per year. In a stable population, only two of those chicks make it to adulthood. The other 20 do not get past year 1. 😮

[@SVImpavidus]

Our winter sailing boots from Port Solent Marine Superstore have lasted 10 seasons! we sill wear them when washing the boat. We will have to replace them soon but it looks on their web site they don't do them any more 🫤 we need a boot sponsor!!! Sail Safe Guys, Ant & Cid

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

I have a great idea. We could start a sailboot channel featuring various different types of sailboots and their nautical adventures 😆

[@sailingmare6563]

I either go barefoot or wear Crocs, but it doesn't get too cold where I am, and my side decks are free of hardware and lines, so fewer targets to jam my toes against. Most dish soap is highly concentrated - have you tried just adding a squirt to a bucket of water? That should reduce the slipperyness.

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

A few people have sent us links to alternatives which we should be able get so we can try that. We do have a squirt bottle which is soap and water mixed and we sometimes use that to soak hard poop because scrubbing. Some adventurous souls around here do wear crocs. Some people round here wear shorts all winter long. I have no plans to join either of those two sartorial clubs!

[@yvonneosullivan2105]

Gaynor needs to make an overhead boat deck cover from sheets to protect the deck 😂

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

Don't give her ideas!!! On the plus side, most of the starlings have migrated...

[@faelsinnes]

1:45 and just like that it's debbie macgee 😅😅😅 wear on your feet hmm used to call them tackety boots😮 , but i do have a ferro 😊😊

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

Steel toecaps for you then... and you are right with the Paul Daniels / Debbie Magee reference so you have just aged both of us... 😄

[@seawench555]

Gee some more spray cleaner an elbow grease, on those cupboards, what was that Bev!!! Biodegradable washing liquid. Derr. Yeah you'll catch Bird Flu🤣on a serious note dishwashing liquid and hair shampoo is actually a degreaser based soap. Do u remember (Volleys) sandshoes, they've got white rubber soles and very comfy, roofers use them a lot. Al Dente Gaynor yummy

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

Actually, there _is_ an avian flu epidemic around here at the moment - lots of dead bird floating in the sea, but I just do not like the idea of carrying avian sewage below decks on feet or hands. I will however try washing Salty Lass in hair conditioner to improve her shine 👍

[@dutchglobetrotter4513]

My favourite shoes are no shoes at all, although I must admit that I only sail in warm climates. As for using detergent to clean the deck, just go for it there are more harmful stuff put in the oceans every day by the millions of liters. A couple of years ago I sailed from Trinidad to St Martin and we had a stowaway (blue footed booby) riding along on the bowsprit for 3 days, you can't imagine the mess he made on the teak deck.

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

Even wearing shoes, I stub my toes too often to not have shoes 😄 We had a pigeon ride across the Irish Sea under our sprayhood. She was onboard less than a day and it was poop city. Heaven only knows what a three-day booby can do 😄😄😄

[@dutchglobetrotter4513]

@@SailingYachtSaltyLass Well it was a poop fest galore I can tell you.

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

Keep it and sell it as guano fertiliser - much sought after by gardeners (or so I am told) 😉

[@dutchglobetrotter4513]

@@SailingYachtSaltyLass 🤣🤣

[@maewest68]

That is so bizarre, I wanted to name my first boat "Out of the Blue" and there's one right next to you.

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

And not only that, it has been following us around for a few years. After the pandemic its former owners took the slip that we had in Carrick marina when we relocated to Bangor. Then when we went off and vacated our Bangor slip, its current owner bought it, moved it to Bangor and was allocated our now empty slip!! We had only made it as far as the fuel dock and there it was in our (ex) slip!!!!!! It's not a sail boat, it's a stalker boat 😆

[@sailinglatis]

We get the seagulls…🤨. Use the same type of cleaner. I put the winter cover frame on the boat yesterday. I’m just waiting for the fall winds to Peter out and “Rio” will be covered up for her winter nap. 😔. Thanks as always for the information. 🇨🇦

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

Covering the boat for winter always sounds so drastic, but I guess with the cold weather you get it is not too surprising. At least the cover will keep the bird poop off. Actually, speaking of seagulls, they rarely poop on the boat - it is the migratory starlings and crows that are the problem around here.

[@sukalanger]

Got some boots from Decathlon which seem good quality and are lasting

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

thanks for the tip

[@millzee60]

I used to have the policy “a place for everything and everything in it’s place”. But on a boat everything you want is always at the bottom of a locker. And as soon as you’ve put it away you need to get it out again, sometimes within a minute. So now the policy is “it gets put away only if it gets in the way” :) So my boat is a tip but at least everything is to hand :)

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

We are still at the _"... everything in its place ..."_ stage of boating although there are days it does not feel like it. Still, I like your policy!

[@sailingsheriff3349]

As always interesting and informative. I bought a pair of Orca Bay boots many years ago . Very comfortable and warm. They were less than a hundred pounds when Du Barry were asking £260. The Orca Bay were difficult to get on due to the angle of the instep being almost 90degrees, once on brilliant very waterproof. I notice Gul are now doing a similar pair for £60.

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

We will keep an eye out for the Gul Boots. Thanks for the tip 👍

[@WavedancerWesterlyfulmar]

Johns gill boots fell asunder in jig time. In fairness he wore his more than me ( I have fat calves so tight on my legs) I used deck shoes in all weather ( barefoot if hot/sunny) He got dubarry boots on sale a number of years ago.

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

It seems that Gill boots are a bit iffy at the moment. My first ones lasted 7 years, Gaynor's lasted 8 or 9 years, but my new ones fell apart in 3 years. Good for John bagging a bargain 👍

[@WavedancerWesterlyfulmar]

@@SailingYachtSaltyLass I dug our gill boots out of storage when helping friend deliver his yacht to New Ross. Not even duct tape could salvage John’s boots. Looking at your boots just cut tops off high above the ankle and you still have viable boots under your salopettes

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

@@WavedancerWesterlyfulmar - I will just leave the tops on. The salopettes do the hard work of keeping the water out

[@WavedancerWesterlyfulmar]

@ what size do you wear?

[@WavedancerWesterlyfulmar]

Most I’ve ever paid for dubarry deck shoes was €65 in a sale. Local store tried charging €150 I walked out. Never get knock offs with plastic soles absolutely lethal. Rubber soles only. Like the mini version of the big blue fabric thermal/green cooking bag you made years ago, just can’t remember the name of those ones

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

That was Wanda the Wonderbag. Alas for Wanda she has now departed for the large kitchen in the sky 😮 At the minute Decathlon's £39.99 wonder shoes are doing OK even if they are a half size too large!

[@WavedancerWesterlyfulmar]

@ ah poor Wanda. Thought I hadn’t seen her in the background for a while. You have her cousin Constance the cozy now

[@mymobile5014]

Thongs are flip flops. All I wear on deck are fake crocs. £6 a pair and they last about 2-3 years.

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

You must be somewhere a lot warmer than here!!

[@mymobile5014]

@@SailingYachtSaltyLass I frickin wish!

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

😄😄😄😄

[@jimmyjohnstone5878]

When washing the deck whilst in a marina I run the fresh water hose as I brush. That gets rid of the soapy residue as I work, so never needing me to walk on the slippy soap. I bought Dubarry boots in a sale years ago and use them on cold days. Mostly I wear cheap trainers which have white soles. Do you have an electric hob for marina use ?

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

No, we use gas. To minimise its use we have thermal cookers or do a lot of quick/fast stir frys. We also use a bigger cylinder over winter and store it under the cockpit seat out of the weather but where it can still vent overboard. The 5kg cylinder lasts several months for £20 or so.

[@01ariti]

Good job on the shelves, how often do you clean the deck? I seem to spend more time jet washing than sailing, oh I dream of a clean boat

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

At the minute we have to clean the deck two or three times a week, but the birds will soon be south for the winter and the poops from heaven will end. Then we can wash the boat once a month as normal 😆

[@SailingSVCordelia]

Great episode. A quick question regarding the wash bags. Was the pasta fully cooked or was it continuing to cook within the wash bag. I screamed laughing at the 'thongs', i nearly died laughing too when she used the word to me 😅🤣

[@SailingYachtSaltyLass]

The pasta is brought to the boil on the stoves (takes a couple of minutes) and then added to the bag and left for 10 or 15 minutes to finish cooking. It means that we only use a couple of minutes of gas. As for "thongs", I whacked my foot on a genny car yesterday... 😮

[@SailingSVCordelia]

@SailingYachtSaltyLass Hahaha!