Keep out their prey and spiders won’t move in
Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017
Over the more than 40 years that I’ve been messing around in boats, I’ve had to deal with a variety of uninvited guests that have tried to set up house on board. In addition to the seasonal invasions of mayflies, midges, muckle-heads, and black flies, I’ve evicted swallows from my boom, mud daubers from between the flakes of the mainsail, and numerous species of spiders from every nook and cranny of the rigging.
With the exception of periodic cockpit invaders, most critters come aboard while the boat is moored in its slip awaiting use. Fortunately, I’ve screened the opening portlights, hatches, companionway, and engine vents, and these measures have been effective at keeping bugs and other creepy-crawlies out of the cabin.
Recently, though, I had to remove a mother spider, her numerous offspring, and her extensive web from inside my starboard Dorade vent. It wasn’t an easy task. While the Dorade vent’s outlet is screened and prevents any intrusion into the cabin, the cowl is large, wide open, and inviting.
After evicting the stowaway arachnids, I wrapped the cowl with an applicator cover from my electric buffer. It prevented an invasion by insects and airborne debris, but it also eliminated 90 percent of the air movement. So much for a quick fix!
While the applicator cover was temporarily in place, I fashioned a proper screen cover. To do so, I measured the diameter of the cowl, cut screen material 6 inches larger, folded over the screen’s perimeter edge approximately 11/2 inches, sewed the folded edge, and fed a cord between the fold all the way around the screen. While I was at it, I made a screen for the other Dorade cowl, and tied the new bug- and debris-proof screens over the cowls.
Now all I need to do is devise a way to keep water snakes from sunbathing on my sugar-scoop stern.
Gregg Nestor is a contributing editor with Good Old Boat. He has authored three books on sailing: Twenty Affordable Sailboats to Take You Anywhere, The Trailer Sailer Owner’s Manual, and All Hands on Deck. Last year, he became a snowbird after relocating his boat, a Caliber 35, from the Great Lakes to Florida, where he now gets to experience tides, manatees, dolphins, wonderful winter weather, and the occasional hurricane.
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