Capt. Rodbone
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2020
- Messages
- 177
- Location
- U.S.
- Vessel Name
- SV Stella Polaris MV Sea Turtle
- Vessel Make
- 1978 VanDine Gaff rigged schooner, 1978 Grand Banks Classic Trawler
Okay boating brethren, I look forward to posting this and seeing the myriad of responses. We are safely in a marina in Trenton ON, CA waiting out a nasty and still building blow, so the perfect day for this new to me topic.
So what I originally scoffed at as being just the next thing my wife found to worry about as we enter the second half of our Loop, I now think the topic deserves some research on my part. A quick search of the forum using keyword “muskrat” turned up quite a few threads.
It’s safe to now ascertain this is a real issue, and not a version of what we southerners refer to as “a snipe hunt”. What I’m trying to figure out if there is anything I need to do to our boat? Pay what I understand these guards cost, much less two of them? Hope not. Fabricate something on my own while we sit out this weather? Maybe but not preferred. My question is whether or not I need to do anything given our boat for the next few months here in muskrat land will rarely if ever stay put for more than a day or two? Wouldn’t an engine start send any freeloading critters quickly back out? I’m not even sure one could withstand the initial blasts that my startups cause even if it wanted to .Also wouldn’t my adding a more thorough specific view of the wet exhaust hoses and resulting potential leaks be sufficient? I do see from the search I did that some very active forum users I respect a great deal use these guards, but I have to believe (probably more accurately put I really WANT to believe) that a boat in use this often doesn’t need to fool with this.
I commit to Neptune, all of you, and my wife that should I get even one response here along the lines of “my friend spent one night on a lock wall and woke up to a high water alarm and an eye patch wearing muskrat pointing a gun at him”then I’m going to get proactive.
So what I originally scoffed at as being just the next thing my wife found to worry about as we enter the second half of our Loop, I now think the topic deserves some research on my part. A quick search of the forum using keyword “muskrat” turned up quite a few threads.
It’s safe to now ascertain this is a real issue, and not a version of what we southerners refer to as “a snipe hunt”. What I’m trying to figure out if there is anything I need to do to our boat? Pay what I understand these guards cost, much less two of them? Hope not. Fabricate something on my own while we sit out this weather? Maybe but not preferred. My question is whether or not I need to do anything given our boat for the next few months here in muskrat land will rarely if ever stay put for more than a day or two? Wouldn’t an engine start send any freeloading critters quickly back out? I’m not even sure one could withstand the initial blasts that my startups cause even if it wanted to .Also wouldn’t my adding a more thorough specific view of the wet exhaust hoses and resulting potential leaks be sufficient? I do see from the search I did that some very active forum users I respect a great deal use these guards, but I have to believe (probably more accurately put I really WANT to believe) that a boat in use this often doesn’t need to fool with this.
I commit to Neptune, all of you, and my wife that should I get even one response here along the lines of “my friend spent one night on a lock wall and woke up to a high water alarm and an eye patch wearing muskrat pointing a gun at him”then I’m going to get proactive.