F35 Critters Nesting inside the Boom

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Mark K.
Posts: 60
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2016 4:32 pm

F35 Critters Nesting inside the Boom

Post by Mark K. »

While trying to figure out what was making my reefing lines stiff and hang up I shined a flashlight and looked into the end of my boom. To my surprise the hollow boom was about 20% filled with leaves, twigs and other nesting materials some critters had put in there. No sign of the critters. Probably they were power boat critters after all and had moved along. So I rigged up two 5/8" garden hoses and blasted several hundred gallons of water into the aft end of the boom and critter home building materials rained down near the gooseneck end of the boom and covered the boat with litter best left in the forest. I also shook the boom from side to side and pulled the reefing lines fore and aft during the deluge which dislodging additional critter stuffings. During this process my marina neighbors had quizzical glances for my strange behavior and I quickly explained what was going on. Nobody set up beach chairs, coolers and BBQ's to watch the show this time. No idea where the boom had been stored for this to happen but it might be worth other Freedom owners taking a quick peek through the end of the boom to see if other forest dwellers had made a home in your boom as well.

Mark K.
S/V Encore

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