Not a sailbox story, but... Took the boat down to Nags Head, rigged it, wheeled it down to the beach, pulled the wheels, then sat back with the first beer of vacation and started working to replace a valve stem (Roleeze) so I'm not pumping it up all week. Got the tire sitting in my lap. For some reason, I have to get up, and I turn the wheel over as I do. Right inside the spoked hub is a big black widow spider. Maybe she was still too dizzy after her ride down the beach (and 5 hours of interstate) to mess with me, but HER vacation ended right there. We had another black widow crawl out of the drain hole once...

Also borrowed a friend's 16, and mice had wintered and raised a family in his sails. The holes they chewed were pretty small, but the mouse pee was TERRIBLE! Had to wash it twice with lemon-scented dish detergent before the sailmaker would touch it (and I didn't blame him a bit). There was tons of poop in the box, too :-(

Finally, I picked up two TheMightyHobie18 crossbars for a friend, and carried them home 3 hours+. Both had been on the ground, but one was still pretty grungy, so it got strapped on top of the van. Got it home and hit it with the hose, and big red ants started to come out. By the time I quit, I bet I had flushed out several hundred. If that crossbar had been INSIDE the van...

I have had several hornet nests make a home inside my trailer.

Not a trailer box but in the boxed in the rails that actually make up the trailer frame... My repair guy was the one who both noticed and dealt with them after they kept buzzing him while working on my boat... he suggested I fill the opening of the frame with expanding foam. I opted not to.... as i enjoyed seeing them buzzing him (kidding)

Oh yes, hornets can be nasty. Not only will they get in through the frame openings (end of the box rails), they can get in through holes drilled for wires, etc. Of course, if you seal all of that up, they might just build the nests on the underside of the sail box, or the underside of the framing.

I'm sure 99.9% of my problem stems from not using the boat enough. Same sort of issues with the RV, if it sits too long, critters have their way with you.

Mike

Ah yes- 1500 carpenter ants in my 33 year-old Woodie's front crossbar, the one shown here <-. Solution- Garden hose.
Mice in the rolled up H16 sails inside my garage on the sail loft! Result was several holes and terrible amounts of breath-gagging mouse pee. Solution- Garden hose then soap.
5 year old huge colony of Florida Wood roaches, most alive + 3 pounds of roach poop in a newly delivered, rolled up Avon rubber dingy. Solution- Garden hose then soap.
I think I see a pattern here.

Yes, I think I see it too. You're obsessed with a garden hose for some reason...

Mike

Some mice apparently lived in my 6.0 jib - no holes but a nasty big brownish stain that has refused to come out over the years...

Are you SURE that brown stain was due to mice?

Are ya sure the brown stains were in the SAILS ???? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

A couple of years ago I took my kids sailing on my Miracle for a couple of hours. It was only when I got back and almost derigged that I noticed a couple of hornets coming out of the front beam. There was a nest in there. The kids had been playing on the trapeze and the old shock cord had snapped and flipped around in the beam. I don't know why they didn't come out while rigging or sailing or shock cords flailing around. They sure came out and were looking for something to sting when I sprayed insecticide in there. I also discovered a nest just inside the port hole, about an inch from where I put my fingers to tip the boat bows down. Once again no reaction.

John

Well, to be honest - the stains were there when I bought the boat (honest, it's true!), and that's what the seller said. I guess I just didn't want to consider alternatives... <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />