"Falky foo" wrote:

Whenever my boat's at anchor or in slip at night, I hear weird rapid and
random clicking noises coming from, I think, the bottom of the boat. It's
sort of the sound of pop rocks on your tongue or really loud champagne
bubbles or of pop corn popping in the microwave (but not that loud).

Somebody told me it was barnacles feeding. Is that right? It doesn't
happen when the boat is moving and I don't remember if it happens in the
day.


It's shrimp - at least my boat doesn't have barnacles on the bottom.

If you use the toilet at night without turning on the light and you
are using water from outside the boat to flush, you can see
phosphorescence in there too.


grandma Rosalie

weird clicking noises when boat motionless
 

Whenever my boat's at anchor or in slip at night, I hear weird rapid and
random clicking noises coming from, I think, the bottom of the boat. It's
sort of the sound of pop rocks on your tongue or really loud champagne
bubbles or of pop corn popping in the microwave (but not that loud).

Somebody told me it was barnacles feeding. Is that right? It doesn't
happen when the boat is moving and I don't remember if it happens in the
day.

For the record the boat is in San Diego Bay.


"Falky foo" wrote in message
om...
Whenever my boat's at anchor or in slip at night, I hear weird rapid and
random clicking noises coming from, I think, the bottom of the boat. It's
sort of the sound of pop rocks on your tongue or really loud champagne
bubbles or of pop corn popping in the microwave (but not that loud).

Somebody told me it was barnacles feeding. Is that right? It doesn't
happen when the boat is moving and I don't remember if it happens in the
day.

"Falky foo" wrote in message
om...
Whenever my boat's at anchor or in slip at night, I hear weird rapid and
random clicking noises coming from, I think, the bottom of the boat. It's
sort of the sound of pop rocks on your tongue or really loud champagne
bubbles or of pop corn popping in the microwave (but not that loud).

Somebody told me it was barnacles feeding. Is that right? It doesn't
happen when the boat is moving and I don't remember if it happens in the
day.


You have heard the mysterious sound of biological noise. Shrimp or other
creatures on your hull.

The first time I took our Navigator south from MA to Florida, I started
hearing the clicking/popping sound as we got south of Norfolk, VA. The
engine room of the Navigator is fully insulated and I thought at first that
the sound was the insulation adhesive on the inside of the hull popping as
the water temperature was slowly increasing. Initially, I could only hear
it when I went into the engine room to check oils, etc, but by the time we
got to St. Augustine, FL, I could hear it faintly in the main stateroom.

Being my first long distance trip in a new boat, I was obviously getting
very concerned, thinking the hull was cracking or some stupid thing, until
my brother called me from the dock while we were tied up in St. Augustine.
I went over to where he was and he told me to listen to the hulls on some of
the other boats. They were all cracking and popping.

We stopped also in Titusville, FL and were talking to the harbormaster on
duty. He was an old timer and entertained us with all kinds of sea stories,
shuttle launch stories and other interesting tales. I happened to mention
the cracking and popping and he explained it was a biological noise - most
likely shrimp - and that I was only one of hundreds that had asked him about
the noise over the years.

Eisboch

I happened to mention
the cracking and popping and he explained it was a biological noise - most
likely shrimp - and that I was only one of hundreds that had asked him
about
the noise over the years.

Eisboch



I guess it's a question as old as sailing itself.

I've been asking myself the same question now for years :-) We're in a
slip on Harbor Island, and hear the same thing. Guess I have an answer now.

Keith Hughes

Falky foo wrote:
I happened to mention
the cracking and popping and he explained it was a biological noise - most
likely shrimp - and that I was only one of hundreds that had asked him

about

the noise over the years.

Eisboch




I guess it's a question as old as sailing itself.

Rosalie B. wrote:

"Falky foo" wrote:

Whenever my boat's at anchor or in slip at night, I hear weird rapid and
random clicking noises coming from, I think, the bottom of the boat. It's
sort of the sound of pop rocks on your tongue or really loud champagne
bubbles or of pop corn popping in the microwave (but not that loud).

Somebody told me it was barnacles feeding. Is that right? It doesn't
happen when the boat is moving and I don't remember if it happens in the
day.


It's shrimp - at least my boat doesn't have barnacles on the bottom.

As to the question of whether you can hear it during the day - it
depends on how many shrimp and how quiet it is, and also on the
species - when they feed etc. I first heard this noise when
snorkeling off St. John USVI. So I think if you swim in the water,
you can hear this also even during the day. I think it may be one of
the ways that dolphin find the shrimp.

If you use the toilet at night without turning on the light and you
are using water from outside the boat to flush, you can see
phosphorescence in there too.


grandma Rosalie

grandma Rosalie

Shrimp? Must be "popcorn" shrimp!

TDS
S/V Cimba


Falky foo wrote:
Whenever my boat's at anchor or in slip at night, I hear weird rapid
and
random clicking noises coming from, I think, the bottom of the boat.
It's
sort of the sound of pop rocks on your tongue or really loud
champagne
bubbles or of pop corn popping in the microwave (but not that loud).

Somebody told me it was barnacles feeding. Is that right? It
doesn't
happen when the boat is moving and I don't remember if it happens in
the
day.

"Keith Hughes" wrote in message
...
I've been asking myself the same question now for years :-) We're in a
slip on Harbor Island, and hear the same thing. Guess I have an answer
now.

Keith Hughes
And I'm on the Rock River in Northern Illinois. Have always heard the same
noise when anchored and assumed here that it was rocks rolling along the
bottom or carp feeding on the algae (or whatever) that builds up on the
bottom of the boat.
Tom.

They're called "Brine Shrimp", and when our boat was moored at Harbor
Island, we heard them too. Other noises you may hear in San Diego bay are
"Croakers" (a species of fish) and Harbor Seals (as they swim under your
boat to catch fish). Every once and a while, you may also hear the Dolphns
that the Navy trains for their "Special Ops" (they sometimes take the
dolphins down the channel behind Harbor Island.

--
Paul

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