# Snake on a Boat



## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

OK, not quite sure where to post this but here it goes...

I have been traveling for the past three months and haven't been out to my boat. I keep the boat at a wet slip on Lake Travis outside of Austin, Texas. I went out to my boat this morning and the first thing I saw was a large snake skin leading from under the hatch cover into the space that it slides into. This was a big snake skin (snake was probably at least 2" in diameter).  I climbed aboard (looking around cautiously). I opened the hatch cover and looked inside. There were three places where a snake had regurgitated the fish bones of a meal on the sole. But there was not a visible snake. The cabin did not have a smell of snake (yes they do have a smell) and it didn't smell like the snake had died in there. Needless to say I was a bit dismayed about going into the cabin as I was in shorts and flip flops. 

I opened the port lazerette as it gives easy access to the engine and space under the cockpit. Much to my surprise, there was another snake skin! This one was at least 6 feet long. Again, no visible snake.

So, now to my question, does anyone know how to get a snake out of a boat?  

I didn't have my camera with me but I am going back to the boat tomorrow and will take pictures.


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## therapy23 (Jul 28, 2007)

I have a stick with a loop at the end that can be tightened that I made.
Catching snake skins is easy.
or,
Wait till he leaves and move the boat. That'll fix em'.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

wow! not sure. you can always advertise to the RIF RAF that you have expensive electronics on board and let them have a look around


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

Maybe it's time to move up to a bigger boat, and time to sell. (g)


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## TejasSailer (Mar 21, 2004)

Allanbc,

Two snake skins might mean two (or more) snakes. This from Snake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"An older snake may shed its skin only once or twice a year, but a younger, still-growing snake, may shed up to four times a year."


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Do you know what kind of snake it is??? If it is a common black water snake, that's not much of an issue...if it is a water moccasin, then you got a problem. 

If you can seal up the openings he's using to get in the boat, that should help...but you need to find him and evict him—carefully.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

Freesail99 said:


> Maybe it's time to move up to a bigger boat, and time to sell. (g)


Wanna buy a boat with a crew?


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

TejasSailer said:


> Allanbc,
> 
> Two snake skins might mean two (or more) snakes. This from Snake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
> 
> "An older snake may shed its skin only once or twice a year, but a younger, still-growing snake, may shed up to four times a year."


Two snakes is a possibility that I had thought of. It could be just lucky that one snake shed twice. That is possible because it has been very warm (makes snakes active) and there is evidence of multiple meals. I just hope I don't have baby snakes!


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

sailingdog said:


> Do you know what kind of snake it is??? If it is a common black water snake, that's not much of an issue...if it is a water moccasin, then you got a problem.
> 
> If you can seal up the openings he's using to get in the boat, that should help...but you need to find him and evict him-carefully.


Not sure what kind since I haven't seen it. We have many different types of water snakes here and, because of the size, I would suspect a diamondback water snake. They are pretty harmless but will bite if provoked. It could be a water moccasin but I think it would be unlikely. I asked at the marina office and they said they usually only see water snakes and not moccasins. But hey, you never know.

I'm probably going to call a friend who is a herpetologist and see if he will come hunting for a six pack!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Snake B-Gone!*

What you need is some snake B-gone, aka cat litter, that has had some cat urine on it. Or, if you really want to be sure there is no snake aboard or be rid of it if there is, borrow a Jack Russell and let it do what they do very well.

If the snake is six feet long, it is not likely a water moccassin, they seldom get so long and if they do they are very thick.

Can you take the skin to the local DNR or game warden type of folks for them to have a look. My guess is that they will know the type of snake just from seeing the skin and based on the territory you are describing.


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

What's your problem? You don't see the snake and the snake isn't bothering you. In the meantime, you have absolutely no vermin or infestation problems. And, if he eats your outboard he should be easily found and slow moving at that.


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## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

My experience with snakes....never on a boat though, they have a tendancy to always find their makeshift home. I once snagged a 10 foot black snake and literally moved him about a mile away - week later, back again. We ended up just becoming friends although - once, I dropped the garage door one morning and it came falling on top of me....needless to say - I didn't need coffee to be awake after that point ...

Best suggestion is to look for the access points and seal them up. You can spread talcum powder around suspect areas to see travel patterns in some cases... or hire one of the experts to investigate and remove the fella...


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## retclt (Nov 7, 2006)

Sink the boat for about an hour . . . then raise it.

The snake friend is probably the best bet. Even if its not moccasins and just water snakes I hear those water snakes really really hurt when they bite. big teeth!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I got the answer!!! go to hardware store, buy bug bombs in 4 pack, set them off in boat. wait outside for 2 hours if no snake comes out it is safe, if snake comes out ,, he wont come back


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## Johnrb (Sep 21, 2002)

One more reason to appreciate winter in the great white north - freeze it.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Call Al-Gore and ask him what to do, sheesh, he knows everything. Maybe he can arrange a documentary wherein it is proven that localized-global warming in Texas, particularly Austin, is now proven as snakes move aboard vacant sailing vessels awaiting the return of the Mother Wheel. Or the mother something.

BTW, snakes do not regurgitate, it is a one way system so what you saw on the sole is what IS in every since of the meaning.

You need to let a Jack Russell loose on that boat for a few minutes!! Until then, don't forget your Marlin stainless steel 12 gauge pirate monitoring system.


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## Freesail99 (Feb 13, 2006)

AA3NK, don't look now, but your political party affiliation is showing.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

And I like the view...


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## astraeus (Jan 30, 2006)

Is this the sequel to that Samuel Jackson movie????


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

I just got home from doing a delivery. I was moving a new boat for a nice family who were with me as I was teaching en-route. We got caught by a thunder storm with 60 mph gusts and pea sized hail.

I would much rather deal with a storm than a Snake. I hate snakes. sorry I can't be of help! Did I say, I hate sankes. good luck to you. Let us know how it works out.


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## Iflyka200s (Oct 3, 2007)

Like bubb, 

I HATE snakes... figure if Adam wasn't up to the task of getting rid of them, I AM! 

Anyway, be careful and tread lightly... if its a cotton mouth they can be mean!


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## retclt (Nov 7, 2006)

I'm still betting water snake. Cotton mouths don't normally make a 6 foot skin. I've seen some [email protected]%# big water snakes while conoeing the Trinity and around our lake house dock in East Texas. Big mothers! They won't kill you unless its from a heart attack when that huge mouth opens up.

I hate snakes too.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

All I know for sure is that if I get to Heaven ...I'm going to slap Adam around a bit..


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## retclt (Nov 7, 2006)

Wasn't it Eve that ran into that pesky serpant first?


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Yep...but it took all the craft of that serpent to deceive Eve....All she had to do was bat her eyes and he said what the heck you lead I'll follow you anywhere babe..


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## retclt (Nov 7, 2006)

Speechless.


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## sanctuarysam (Sep 16, 2006)

once, I dropped the garage door one morning and it came falling on top of me....needless to say - I didn't need coffee to be awake after that point ...

i literally jumped and shivers ran through me reading this..
uhm... i don't like spiders or snakes..
and i'd prolly freak if i found a snake on my boat.


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## therapy23 (Jul 28, 2007)

Has anyone stopped by and offered to take it off for a fee?

I wonder if having a pet snake while cruising could help keep the kitty topped up??


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

No....I think the snake would eat the Kitty...


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## parttimesailor (Sep 18, 2006)

Call Samuel L. Jackson?


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Egads!*



Freesail99 said:


> AA3NK, don't look now, but your political party affiliation is showing.


I thought I was over that part of life Nope, not anymore. I am all about term limits, get them gone, it is NOT a job and those folks need to do something else most of the year instead of squandering and bickering.

I have dealt with a lot of snakes over the years. Being from Louisiana and having ran a cattle ranch Arkansas, I know that snakes are everywhere. Do you know that it is illegal to kill a rattlesnake? Well, illegal for people to kill them.

Some of y'all might not know it but pigs eat snakes, all kinds, and are immune to the venom--kind of like politicians?


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## MoonSailer (Jun 1, 2007)

Moth balls!!!! Moth balls will probably make your snake leave. Then close openings.


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## NauticalFishwife (Dec 12, 2007)

Growing up in the country it was common for me to get off the school bus, walk up the drive to the house, kill the copperhead sunning on the driveway then go do my homework. We had a dog who would kill water moccasins for us and we left the big black snake in the blackberry bushes alone. He didn't eat much-but he was HUGE! You should be able to identify the snake by the skin. And the shape of the head will tell you if you need to worry about the bite. This too you can tell from the skin. Are there tree branches hanging over your boat? How did the snake get into the boat? I just have to tell you, you've given me the creeps thinking about the possibility of a snake clogging my ac intake filter rather than just nettles. We have a lot of water snakes in Back Creek - Annapolis!


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## LiamM (Dec 2, 2007)

*Move!*

Simple, permanent solution - sell the boat and move to Ireland or New Zealand


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Throw a weasel or a ferret in the boat?

I'd guess there are smokebombs that would also clear a snake out, the same way woodchucks and the like are sometimes smoked out of their burrows. 

Could be that after the snake ate dinner and molted, he realized there just wasn't much else to eat on your boat, and left again.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

NauticalFishwife said:


> Growing up in the country it was common for me to get off the school bus, walk up the drive to the house, kill the copperhead sunning on the driveway then go do my homework. We had a dog who would kill water moccasins for us and we left the big black snake in the blackberry bushes alone. He didn't eat much-but he was HUGE! You should be able to identify the snake by the skin. And the shape of the head will tell you if you need to worry about the bite. This too you can tell from the skin. Are there tree branches hanging over your boat? How did the snake get into the boat? I just have to tell you, you've given me the creeps thinking about the possibility of a snake clogging my ac intake filter rather than just nettles. We have a lot of water snakes in Back Creek - Annapolis!


I have no idea how the snake got on the boat. My slip is the last one, farthest out in the lake. The only way on the boat is for the snake to go up on the dock and up one of the lines!


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

And I was just about to ask if your girlfriend was an exotic dancer!


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## SEMIJim (Jun 9, 2007)

This is one of the more amusing G&M threads I've seen .

We had a pesky raccoon in one of our marinas last season. Had to be chased off several boats. I guess it was finally discouraged from ever coming back, because nobody ever saw it again after the last time.

Jim


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

I wonder if Allanbc spent last night on board with machete in hand!

If he did he is a better man than me. I hate snakes. LOL


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

just for fun I did a search this is what I found, hope it's helps.

Snake Guard Snake Trap, snakes, SNAKES, trap snakes, SNAKE TRAP

By the way I hate snakes!


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## NauticalFishwife (Dec 12, 2007)

Seriously... how could the snake get on the boat!? I think I'd look to your best friend or the person you've pissed off the most! 

Follow me on this one... cute story!
The first year we moved our boat to Annapolis we were on the dock where all of the charter boats came in. Lots of activity on that dock and "Muffin" a long time Annapolis resident cared for the boats. One day she asked me if I'd seen all the snake eggs close to the ramp-on the edge of the water. Excited I zipped up there to look. Sure enough, there they were. The next step, as a teacher, was of course heading to the library for research as to what kind of snake eggs they would be. I narrowed it down to just a few water snakes, those that lay eggs, and those that could be found in Maryland. The librarian had a bit of time on her hands that day so she assisted and we put together 15 pages, complete with pictures of all the possibilities. Proudly I took my research back to the dock and we waited for hatching day! Everyday we would count. The guys in the yard seemed to mourn when I told them an egg or two were gone-raccoons maybe??? FINALLY one day they all gathered to watch my reaction, and humiliation as they told me when cleaning one of the charter boats someone had left a can of small potatoes. Yep, Muffin dumped them in the water... and my initiation to G dock was soon to be complete!


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## donradclife (May 19, 2007)

I used my fishing rod to get a sea snake out of the back cabin--Tied the end of the line to the top ferrule, opened up a loop, got the snake to stick his head through the loop, and cranked down tight on the the reel. Swung the snake out of the boat over the water and loosened up the reel and it fell out.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

bubb2 said:


> I wonder if Allanbc spent last night on board with machete in hand!
> 
> If he did he is a better man than me. I hate snakes. LOL


No, no night on the boat for me. The machete is a good idea (better than my first thought which was a shotgun  ). I did go back today. I kept the boat hook handy and searched around the boat but found no snake. That means it is gone (or just hiding well  ).

Snakes don't really bother me but they are not my favorite. I did just come back from 2 months of thrashing around in the jungle in Belize. They have mean snakes there.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

NauticalFishwife said:


> Seriously... how could the snake get on the boat!? I think I'd look to your best friend or the person you've pissed off the most!


No sure how it got onto the boat unless is climbed one of the lines. It seems to have gotten into the cabin by going through the gap between the hatch cover and the drop boards. How it got all the way back up there to get out is beyond me. On my boat, it is a good 3 feet from anything.

I doubt any of my enemies did it because they don't know where I keep my boat!



> Follow me on this one... cute story!


 They got you with that one!


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

Allanbc said:


> No, no night on the boat for me. The machete is a good idea (better than my first thought which was a shotgun  ). I did go back today. I kept the boat hook handy and searched around the boat but found no snake. That means it is gone (or just hiding well  ).
> 
> Snakes don't really bother me but they are not my favorite. I did just come back from 2 months of thrashing around in the jungle in Belize. They have mean snakes there.


First I want to say that I am very versed with Allied boats, the one thing I can assure you is the critter can't chew his way out.

If I was spending a nite on a boat thinking there was a snake on board and had a shotgun around, snake or no snake at the first noise, I would have blow the bottom out that boat in first 10 min. LOL


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

Now that I think of it, Firing a shotgun inside a Allied might not be a good idea. Allied's are built like tanks there is a risk of ricochet Allied's are that strong.


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## astraeus (Jan 30, 2006)

hellosailor said:


> Throw a weasel or a ferret in the boat?
> 
> That sounds like a song I heard, about a little old lady who swallowed a fly.


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## merttan (Oct 14, 2007)

First "snakes on a plane", then snakes on a boat... Sailnet member goes Hollywood 
I'd contact animal control since they would know where to look...
That's probably the first time I ever heard a snake on a boat...
"God.... snakes on the God.... boat!!!"  I can picture the previews... Short shots of the boat, and happy people, then dramatic music intro to dark spots and snake skins, people in panic, looking around in the water and you can see the snake curling in the water... Hey this can be a jaws+snakes on a plane+anaconda combo movie... Someone call Spielberg... 
Good luck and don't forget to film it...


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## EO32 (Jan 7, 2008)

Coming to a theater near you


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## tweitz (Apr 5, 2007)

Sorry for the OP, but this is my favorite thread for quite a while. I love the image of firing a shotgun at a garden hose and then trying to plug the boat.

Bubb2, where did you hit that thunderstorm? We hit a nasty one yesterday just below Plum Gut on the way over from Connecticut.


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## jnew (Aug 3, 2000)

We had a similar problem when a 6-foot pine snake got out of its cage and went to ground somewhere in my laboratory (I'm a biologist). My herpetologist collaborator (who is good at thinking like a snake) and I searched everywhere but we couldn't find her. We put a mouse in a cage as bait and checked back periodically. Several days later I came in and there she was; I grabbed her with our hook and put her back in her cage.


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## fullkeel7 (Apr 16, 2008)

*Snake boy*

Ok, here's the deal. So ya think you have two snakes aboard. I think they still sell condoms in packs of two. So for about a buck or so, the trap is SET.

Next step is to find two small frogs (snakes LOVE FROGS) Insert 1 ea. frog into each condom. Ulta Thins are better for sinsitivity and most snakes appricate THAT! Unfold condoms ensuring said frogs are in the tip (BTW, did you know all condoms are serialized? Yeah, on the very end there's a number....for tracking I guess. Personally, I've never had to unrolled one that far, so I can't say for sure ) and gingerly place condoms on cabin sole.

Number one, they love crawling into holes especially if there is something tasty inside. Two, same as above, snakes can't resist a slimy frog.

Your done my friend. Their own make up will do 'em in. Snakes can't back up. After eating their feast, they might panic and try to turn around to escape with their meal only to imbed themselves further into the condom. (flexibility ya know) The next morning, you WILL find one of two things.

1) One or both snakes have sufficated and your troubles are over.

2) One or both of the condoms have broken and the snakes or snake will be smoking a cigarette basking in the aftermath and therefore quite easily dispatched! Good luck and may your snake never shed it's skin.

Bob


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## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

FullKeel..... Just how do you get a frog inside a condom.... From the elaborate and illustrative instructions, it seems that you may have done this once or thrice before. I think the only cigarette smoking afterwards, would be after the poor soul actually manages to squeeze a frog into the condom.


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## fullkeel7 (Apr 16, 2008)

It's always easier to insert the frog into the center and THEN unroll. Hope this helps.


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## beej67 (Apr 2, 2008)

Great thread.

Snake could have gotten aboard via a scupper drain, or up a dock line. They're great climbers. Once on deck he could get below in any number of ways, including through your air scoop, or your blower vent.

Step one no matter what is to find the snake. The first place I'd look on my boat is in the bilge, under the cabin sole, in the engine compartment, on the gas tank, or around the rudder post.

I wish I had a black snake on my boat. That'd be pretty cool. Certainly keep the rats and vagrants away. Wouldn't want a poisonous snake though. I find the best way to learn to live with snakes is to name them. Clyde is a great snake name, for both male and female snakes. We had a pair of black snakes when I was growing up in NC that lived in our woodshed, then in the woodshop, then in the laundry room. Both were named Clyde. Never had a mouse problem when Clyde and Clyde were around.

If you're on a lake, just go sailing, and tack a lot. Probably piss him off enough to get him to leave.

quote of the thread:



> Ulta Thins are better for sinsitivity and most snakes appricate THAT!


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## groundhog (Jun 27, 2006)

Hey, box him up and send him to me..
I got starlings crapping all over my boat. I can hire him to slither around my deck and scare them off.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

fullkeel7 said:


> Ok, here's the deal. So ya think you have two snakes aboard. I think they still sell condoms in packs of two. So for about a buck or so, the trap is SET.
> 
> Next step is to find two small frogs (snakes LOVE FROGS) Insert 1 ea. frog into each condom. Ulta Thins are better for sinsitivity and most snakes appricate THAT! Unfold condoms ensuring said frogs are in the tip (BTW, did you know all condoms are serialized? Yeah, on the very end there's a number....for tracking I guess. Personally, I've never had to unrolled one that far, so I can't say for sure ) and gingerly place condoms on cabin sole.
> 
> ...


I don't allow my guest to smoke on my boat!


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

groundhog said:


> Hey, box him up and send him to me..
> I got starlings crapping all over my boat. I can hire him to slither around my deck and scare them off.


Soon as I catch it, I'll send it over!


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## beej67 (Apr 2, 2008)

Actually, seems to me like you've found yourself a _non-firearm piracy deterrent_.

Hehe.


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## dave6330 (Aug 16, 2006)

Just when I was starting to bemoan our "Summer that never was", I read this thread! I think I'll just sit back and count my blessings that I live in Alaska where, among other things, we don't have to worry about snakes on our boats! Hasn't reached 70 degrees yet, but NO SNAKES!!!!


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## Iflyka200s (Oct 3, 2007)

This thread has got legs... errr scales....

I'm really curious to know the outcome


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

Iflyka200s said:


> This thread has got legs... errr scales....
> 
> I'm really curious to know the outcome


Still haven't found a snake. I keep telling myself that it left!


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## rocinante33 (Dec 4, 2007)

Change the name of your boat to "Mongoose!" Don't forget to offer a libation to Neptune (or should that be to the snake god).


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that... and sleep with that machete at hand. 


Allanbc said:


> Still haven't found a snake. I keep telling myself that it left!


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## Martinini (Jun 18, 2008)

*Snake*

To find out if it's still there you can go to the store and buy several rat glue boards and place a couple in each area you think the snake might be moving around. If any are out of place and nothing is stuck to them----guess what!
I was an exterminator for 25 years and this works.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

OK.. True story.

On Mother's Day, a couple of years ago, back when we lived in Oklahoma, my son told me that the upstairs toilet was plugged. I got the plunger and went upstairs with him to fix the problem.

While plunging, I noticed something long and cylindrical, that wasn't what I expected.

It was a snake!

Alive!

In the toilet in the upstairs of my house!

As I held the very annoyed snake down with the plunger, The Admiral came upstairs and said that we were late for brunch, and that I needed to kill the snake so that we could leave.

I explained to her that I didn't know what kind of snake it was, and that if it wasn't poisonous, I didn't want to kill it. I also explained that if it was poisonous, didn't know exactly how I would kill the writhing 3-foot long snake that I had pinned down in the toilet bowl.

She left, and her mother came upstairs.

The mother-in-law was much more useful and held the snake down with the plunger while I tried to figure out what to do.

I tried to call my Okie friends, assuming that this might be a common occurrence in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, but nobody was home.

I remember the giant pair of Channel Locks that my oil rigger neighbor had hanging in his garage, and went to borrow it. He wasn't home. I explained my situation to another neighbor and he responded:

"Yep... sounds like a copperhead"

Now copperheads are aggressive, dangerous snakes. I was pretty sure that this wasn't a copperhead, but since my neighbor was offering to help, I wasn't about to argue with him.

I asked him what he planned to do. He said that he would grab the snake with some BBQ tongs that I had, and that we'd put him in a bag and return him to the creek in back of the house.

I liked this plan for several reasons:

1) Oklahomans are well known for their BBQ skills.
2) He wasn't going to kill the snake
3) I wasn't going to have to do anything except hold the bag.

So, he tried to get the snake, and it escaped down the toilet drain.

We flushed a few times, and figure that we'd never see that snake again.

The kids insisted that we the close the lids on the toilets in the house.

On the way to Mother's Day brunch, the family reviewed our experience. We realized that we had made a major error by not taking any pictures. We also settled on a name for the snake. We chose "Plunger"

After a very nice brunch, my son went upstairs to check the toilet.

He came back downstairs crying: "Dad, the snake's in the house!"

I went upstairs to find Plunger sprawled out on top of the toilet tank. When he saw me, he started heading into the toilet tank.

We quickly moved into action. My son got the BBQ tongs. My daughter got the camera, and my wife got the neighbor.

We took this picture:










This time we (meaning the neighbor) was successful in extricating the snake from the toilet tank. I bagged him, and we returned the snake to the local creek.

I emailed a copy of Plunger's picture to the herpetology department at the Tulsa Zoo, and had a nice conversation with one of the zoologists.

He said that Plunger was Black Rat Snake, that hadn't come up from the drain, but that had probably dropped down through a vent pipe from the roof. Black Rat Snakes are great climbers, and climb trees to lay in wait for rodents, birds, and other critters.

The herpetologist was glad that we hadn't killed Plunger. So were we.

They are pretty much harmless, unless you are a rodent, bird, or other critter.

A couple of weeks after the Plunger incident, the neighbor heard something fall when he closed his garage door, and saw that it was Plunger, who had found his way to the top of the door.

It was a cold winter that year, and we all worried about Plunger, and hoped he didn't freeze.

About a year later, I was sitting in the kitchen, as we were packing for our move to Seattle, and I noticed something moving in the backyard.

I investigated and saw that it was Plunger! He was another foot long, and trying to sneak up on some birds that were hunting worms in the grass.

Long story, I know. I hope it was interesting. I find it pretty interesting myself. I wonder if your snake is one of Plunger's relatives.

I second the motion to take the skin down to the zoo and figure out what you have on your hands.

Don't forget your camera.

David


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

Great story, David. Thanks for my morning chuckle!


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

Here's to Plunger!

And here's to David for recognizing that Plunger was just being a snake, probably a confused and misguided snake, but a snake nonetheless.


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

I would be happy to find my snake and give it a better home than my boat!


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## sailaway21 (Sep 4, 2006)

That snake is going to die of old age. (g)


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## seabreeze_97 (Apr 30, 2006)

Snakes o regurgitate. Particularly, egg-eating variants. They swallow the egg, crawl off an maneuver til the egg cracks in their belly, then they spit out the shell. See for yourself. 
Dasypeltis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Ya gotta love this slithery thread! Not being a herpetologist I would not know how to get a snake off a boat but I have had some experience with snakes.
We had 2 snakes in our house when I was young; a garter and a boa constrictor. The garter snake was pretty stupid and would eat stones that it's goldfish would touch - yes, only live goldfish would do. It had to upchuck the stones with human help. 
The baby boa soon got as thick as my arm and "Alice" (I guess for Alice Cooper) was strong enough to push her way out of her aquarium. Once she was found hanging out on a curtain rod. Another time she disappeared and it was only when my mother was teaching a piano lesson that she discovered that not all the keys were working properly. Yup, the boa had climbed up into the baby grand piano. My mother called a piano tuner who took apart the piano and after about 4 hours Alice was back in her aquarium. The piano tuner wrote a little piece about his experience for piano tuner guy magazine (not a very wide readership).
You could employ a Mongoose for the job but then you might end up with bigger problems as they do in the USVI's and some Hawaiian islands where they were introduced. Mongoose are nasty creatures and belong in India where they come from.
It seems as though your snake(s) like to eat fish so you could get a small fish that was the size of the skeletons you found and use some fishing line to tie it up around the tail. The snake will swallow it head first and if the other end of the line is tied off somewhere the snake will not be able to leave the area as long as the fishing line holds onto the fish.
Good luck with thisssss one.


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## NauticalFishwife (Dec 12, 2007)

OK Allan... just want you to know I'm walking down the ramp to the dock this evening. Stepped on "something" and this wet "something" hit the back of my leg and I jumped straight up and did one of those ew ew ew ew ew dances just KNOWING it was a snake!!... then I realized I had stepped on the end of a small branch that kicked up and the wet leaves had hit my leg! 
Thank you very much Allan for putting this snake on the boat in my head!!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

An old guy newbie here with $.02 worth.

This is a method that I used to "evacuate and evict" multi-legged and no-legged critters from a storage shed here in South Texas and I would think that it would work for your boat. Place a glass container down below with some ammonia in it, close up the boat and wait a while. Now, all of God's critters gotta' breathe and there are none that like to inhale ammonia. After you see the snake leave, open up the boat and air it out. Even if you don't see the snake leave, wait several hours or even until the next day. The odds are on your side that you will have no more uninvited guests....until the next time ol' sneaky snake decides that he wants some of your root beer.


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## NauticalFishwife (Dec 12, 2007)

Does that ammonia trick work on guests that linger a bit too long?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

If ammonia doesn't work, you could always try pepper spray. 


NauticalFishwife said:


> Does that ammonia trick work on guests that linger a bit too long?


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## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

Since inception of this thread the OP either tried getting along with the snake, took it sailing and got bitten while performing a gybe. Or, tried the plunger routine only to remember at last moment that it was portapotty and the lid doesn't secure down well enough, or since that time - it became a real snakes on the boat nightmare and it is over-run by the slithery creatures and his boat will soon be featured on that "Boats of Shame" thread...


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

artbyjody said:


> Since inception of this thread the OP either tried getting along with the snake, took it sailing and got bitten while performing a gybe. Or, tried the plunger routine only to remember at last moment that it was portapotty and the lid doesn't secure down well enough, or since that time - it became a real snakes on the boat nightmare and it is over-run by the slithery creatures and his boat will soon be featured on that "Boats of Shame" thread...


Nothing new to report. I will be back out at my boat tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll see a snake, maybe I won't. I do notice that this thread has had lots of responses, brought people lots of laughs, and has even spilled over to other threads. Glad I could bring the laughs to people. 

Sleep for me tonight, back in the snake pit tomorrow!


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## Iflyka200s (Oct 3, 2007)

Allan,

I have gotten loads of joy from this thread. I mean most of us complain about, bright work, maintenance eyc. YOU have a snake! 

go snake!


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

Iflyka200s said:


> Allan,
> 
> I have gotten loads of joy from this thread. I mean most of us complain about, bright work, maintenance eyc. YOU have a snake!
> 
> go snake!


Happy to lighten things up around here. No snake turned up on the boat today. I'm starting to think it has moved on. (At least I keep telling myself that!  )


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

I hope your snake is OK....


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## arf145 (Jul 25, 2007)

*Snake in a Car*

Man--I finally had to check to see how this thread could still going on--great stuff.

My own snake story. I loved snakes as a kid--still do. While on vacation, my dad found a green garter snake in a trash can--I thought he called it a garbage snake, but whatever, he was mine. I put it in a jar with holes in the lid and took it with us for the car ride home. On the way home, the snake got out--couldn't find it anywhere. Heartbreak--and a mystery--where could he have gone in a locked car?. Got the answer while unloading the luggage at home. He was hiding out as the thick green wire right alongside a bundle of other wires in the trunk. Kept him for a few days and then did the born free thing.

I love snakes, but no way do I want one sneaking up on me out of the toilet!

Tom


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I would have to sell the boat. If there was a snake on my boat, the boat has to go. Nothing more to think about.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Hmmmm...

I wonder if this would be a way to buy a boat cheap?

I really like jrd22s new boat...

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/44622-water-last.html

How do you feel about snakes?

Is there any other critter that, if found aboard your boat would cause you to sell it cheap?

Just curious?

David


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## fullkeel7 (Apr 16, 2008)

OK, I think this tread has slithered into my psyche and is disrupting my beauty rest and I'm having some BAD dreams.  Well....could be I'm staying up too late on Sailnet and the snacking on the two sardine, tomato and onion w/Italian dressing on rye sandwiches I ate while browsing may not have been a wise choice. And I suppose the over indulgent use of Disaronno may have been a contributing factor but CLEARLY, I have issues......with this thread. 

Last night I went fishing on a remote little lake on vast Morman property out West of Melbourne (my dream and that's where I was??). Seemed to take forever to get there and when I did, I found I had forgotten the bait (fishing for bass ya know). It was a swampy area, but I spied a high spot of land nearby the lake and it had a small clumb of trees on it. I thought maybe I could dig up some worms to use as bait. Sure enough, I found two big juicy night crawlers and baited 'em up. 

After what seemed an eternity and no luck, I gave up and retreated up under the clumb of trees only this time I had a small bottle of Jim Beam for company and a excellent view of the lake. I'm sure there are those that find this elixir suitable, but personally I'd rather drink scum out of the carcass of a dead skunk (but still...it's my dream).

Well, after many hits, I thought I saw something move down on the sandy shore. Low and behold it was the biggest water moccosin I had ever seen and it was sunning itself on the warm sand next to the water. I got up to investigate further and I could not believe that I was seeing. The damn thing was a least 6 and 1/2 feet long, wearing a black patch over it's left eye and had a big ole fat frog in it's mouth! 

Now normally, I'm not real fond of snakes in general, but I can remember thinking..."that frog would make some darn good bait!" The snake, although it looked like it was raised in the shadow of some nuclear power plant, it seemed to be very docile so I grabbed one of the frogs back legs and gave it a little tug. The frog was still alive cause it tried to jerked it's leg from my grasp (like me grabbing it was it's worse problem!). The monster never blinked an eye , so I gave it a little more agressive tug....still nothin! Concerned that I needn't overly annoy this devil creature to the point he really would like to bite me, I retreated to the shade of the clumb of trees and retreived the bottle of Jim Beam. No, not for my nerves, for the snake....I wanted that FROG!

I poured out just enough to fill the cap, checked carefully the snakes temperament, and slowly poured the capful of Jim Beam in between the snakes mouth and the frogs back. After a few seconds all hell broke loose! The snakes one good eye got enormous, rared up like to strike and spit the frog out with such force it shot past me by two feet! The snake then took off for the cat tails at waters edge! Whoa! 

Well, after a quick safety check of my shorts, I picked up the frog (still alive) and hooked it thru it's slimy little lips and cast out. Wasn't long I got this tremendous hit and the fight was on! After a ten minute fight, I landed the biggest large mouth bass I'd ever caught! The ecstasy however, did not last long. When I grabbed the fish by the mouth and tried to extract the hook, it shot out of it's mouth like a cannon and lodged itself in my right earlobe! The pain was so intense, I dropped the fish on the shore and it flipped back into the water and was gone! Damn!

Well, if anyone's still awake, after I got the hook out, I resumed lounging under the trees with the Jim Beam until I drowned my sorrows and drifted into sleep. After awhile, I felt a little nudge on my leg, but ignored it. Again I felt it, only this time with more authority than I could ignore. I opened my eyes and rubbed them to focus on the 6 foot monster that was between my legs! No, my Fairy Godmother didn't grant me my very special wish.....it was the devil snake, eyepatch and all, weaving to and fro, with another fat juicy frog in his mouth!  After another 'safety check' I woke up! 

With any luck at all, this thread will die and I can get the rest I so disparately
NEED! Thank you and good night.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

Something has set us off.....


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

djodenda said:


> I hope your snake is OK....


That sounds kind of personal! 

Fullkeel7, wow, I hope you get a good nights sleep without strange dreams.

Now, for another snake story of my own. My significant other came running into the house one summer morning yelling that there was a giant snake in the yard and she was afraid it was going to get one of our dogs. (We had two golden retrievers.) I walked out into the backyard barefoot in shorts expecting to see a little garter snake. Lo and behold, there was a 3 1/2 foot water moccasin in the backyard (we lived close to a creek). I went to the shed and put on my knee high rubber boots and got a shovel (after considering the shotgun but vetoing the idea as it might upset the neighbors). I walked back to where the snake was and dispatched it with the shovel. About two weeks later, I was out in the backyard and saw another water moccasin in almost the same spot. I went to the shed and came back with a shovel but this time it was gone!  Never saw any more water moccasins in the yard after that.


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## djodenda (Mar 4, 2006)

When I told the story of Plunger to a guy from Wichita, he said:

"In Kansas, we have two kinds of snakes: Hoe snakes, and Shotgun snakes."


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"another water moccasin"

Allan, why did that surprise you? 
Didn't you know...moccasins always come in pairs? <VBG>


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## darkin (Sep 19, 2003)

*Water Snake*

I don't know what kind of snake you have but up north here we have one called a northern water snake. It's kinda orange with diamond markings and gets to be about 5 feet long. Sounds like it might be the same one. I did some research because I've seen them on the river. They are not particularly poisonous but their venom is an anticoagulant. You'll bleed a lot and it hurts like hell. So be careful. And I agree, you have at least two snakes.


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## darkin (Sep 19, 2003)

*Water Snake*

Here's a picture (I hope) I took of a northern water snake by a river near my house. See my earlier post.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Maybe Im not so tired of the rainy ol PNW after all...


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Still-

We can ship you a few snakes to make up for your lack of them. 


Stillraining said:


> Maybe Im not so tired of the rainy ol PNW after all...


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

sailingdog said:


> Still-
> 
> We can ship you a few snakes to make up for your lack of them.


I might have one or two around that I could send! The best part is that they are already boat-trained!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*saw a snake... yours?*

Allan,
I was bringing my boat into the docks yesterday afternoon (sail and ski, used to be yacht harbor) and saw a snake in the water heading into the last slip on dock C. It was gone by the time i got tied up. From a distance it did look like northern water snake shown several posts up but I have no idea if they have a range here. I was hoping you'd cornered the market of Lake Travis boat snakes but unless you let it out for a stretch there may be more than 1.


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## fullkeel7 (Apr 16, 2008)

Now THIS is a snake! It tried to eat a 6 and 1/2 foot alligator and was almost successful....well 'til it POPPED! Both did not survive the encounter. And NO, the photo has not been retouched. Someone's Anaconda got loose in the Glades!










Bob

The snakes head is in the water (upper right of photo), it's body continues to the bottom of photo and curves to the left and up to the top center of photo where you can just make out the tail under the water. Where the bend of the snakes body is at lower center(ruptured), you can see one of the alligators back legs, under belly and it's tail pointing to the lower right side in the photo.


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## SYMandalay (Nov 9, 2007)

My snake story can't top that photo, but here goes.

We were anchored out on Lake Texoma in N. Texas. I got up in the night to "check the anchor" and saw what I thought was a stray line wrapped around the backstay about 8 feet up. I could not think of where the line had come from even though it was windy so I grabbed a flashlight and looked to see that it was a snake.

I closed the hatches and companionway so it could not get below where the wife and dog were sleeping. Then I got the telescoping boat hook and extended it all the way and started beating on the snake from as far away as possible. After a few minutes, it slid down the backstay and into the water.

We had a reverse transom boat at the time with the backstay connection close to the water level and I had left the swim ladder down (which I never did again).

I don't know what kind of snake it was but we were far from shore. I dislike all kinds of snakes pretty much equally.

C


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Just remember, most seasnakes are relatively poisonous...so don't get too close to them.  Fresh water snakes are less dangerous, with the Water Moccassin and Cottonmouth being two of the more dangerous ones, at least here in the USA.



> *Sea snakes*, or "seasnakes", are venomous elapid snakes that inhabit marine environments for most or all of their lives. Though they evolved from terrestrial ancestors, and some such as Laticauda sp. retain ancestral characteristics which allow limited movement on land, most are extensively adapted to a fully aquatic life and are unable to even move on land. They are found in warm coastal waters from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. All have paddle-like tails and many have laterally compressed bodies that give them an eel-like appearance. However, unlike fish, they do not have gills and must come to the surface regularly to breathe. Nevertheless, they are among the most completely aquatic of all air-breathing vertebrates.[1] Among this group are species with some of the most potent venoms of all snakes. Some have gentle dispositions and bite only when provoked, while others are much more aggressive. Currently, 17 genera are described as sea snakes, comprising 62 species.[2][3]


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## Allanbc (Apr 19, 2007)

gards1964 said:


> Allan,
> I was bringing my boat into the docks yesterday afternoon (sail and ski, used to be yacht harbor) and saw a snake in the water heading into the last slip on dock C. It was gone by the time i got tied up. From a distance it did look like northern water snake shown several posts up but I have no idea if they have a range here. I was hoping you'd cornered the market of Lake Travis boat snakes but unless you let it out for a stretch there may be more than 1.


Yikes, sounds like someone else has my problem now. My boat is at Sail and Ski but I am at the end of D dock!


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## JewelledJester (Nov 20, 2007)

I'm tired of these mother effing snakes on my mother effing boat!!!!!!


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