Lands End Marina, Inc.
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Questions and Answers

Question:
Is the Mayers Spiky Ball™ guaranteed to keep 100% of the birds off of my masthead?  
Answer:
Absolutely not.  We can only claim that our bird deterrent is effective at deterring birds from perching in the location where the Mayers Spiky Ball™ is placed.  If we were to claim the approximate effectiveness in your application, we would have to see the the specific application.  In some cases, we can claim as much as 95% of the time when we have good circumstances.  It also will make it so birds do not make a habit of sitting on that specific masthead.  Birds are creatures of habit and we can change their daily habits.

Question:
On our 50 foot sailboat the masthead is large and the birds go to the back of the masthead now after I placed your bird deterrent on my front halyard.
Answer:
On larger masthead boats you may want to try using two Mayers Spiky Ball™s, one on the forward halyard and one on the aft or main halyard.

Question:
Do you have any ideas for keeping birds or small animals off the deck and spreaders?
Answer:
The Mayers Spiky Ball™ does not qualify in these instances.  You could raise one with a flag halyard to displace birds from the spreader location if that is applicable.  You will have to ask around your local area to see what other boaters were doing.


Question:
Do you have a trick for raising and lowering the Mayers Spiky Ball™?

Answer:
You need to take time and take it easy when pulling it up.  A good time to do it is at sunset when it is cool and the sun is not in your eyes.  You can celebrate the successful raising with a rum drink.  The object is to raise and lower it with as few problems as possible and with all of the spikes on the ball when it is in place above the masthead.  You can move about with the halyards on the deck and you can flip the halyard a little to get it in position.  You can experiment with the halyard tension between tight and loose.  Sometimes, when you leave it looser, it will move around with the motion of the waves and can be more effective.  I use the halyard snap shackle to raise the ball and the tail end of that halyard to pull the Mayers Spiky Ball™ down as shown in the Instructions sheet.  When you go sailing, just take it down and leave it assembled and put it in a safe place in your boat, like in the bow area.  When you come back to the dock or anchor, just take it back up. 
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Lands End Marina, Inc.
Apartment 3
7250 Gulf of Mexico Drive
Longboat Key, Florida 34228
Email: landsendmarina@mac.com
Cell Phone: 941-383-6598
Meetings by appointment only.