I've been a little distracted lately, I know (lots of great things happening in my personal life, you won't hear me complaining). Plus here in the Southeast U.S., it's a very slow time of year for flyball -- it's too hot to practice outside, and affordable air-conditioned flyball-friendly buildings are hard to find. And it thunderstorms a lot. And everybody is on vacation. And, and, and...
But something really cool has happened with the flyball book. The book publisher that I originally pitched it to (last year) contacted me recently to see if I would be willing to publish it with them as an e-book. If the e-book sells well, they'll publish it as a hard copy book, too. I'm jumping on this offer because I feel like it's the best way to get the book out there to the broadest audience, plus the publisher will add that extra level of professionalism to the project (editing, layout, etc.). And best of all, it's lighting a fire under me to get it finished asap. ;)
I was just working on the chapter about Flyball Equipment, and the section about flyball boxes has me a little bit stumped. I could use your help.
In the old days, people really could build a flyball box themselves in their garage from some plans they found in a book or on the internet. It was basically a big wedge of plywood with a single recessed hole drilled out of the middle. Obviously that's not going to cut it these days. Boxes have evolved into carefully crafted machines, designed for speed as well as safety. They're expensive. They're hard to find. You have to get on a wait list and it could take months to get it (for example, I recently contacted Eric Tindall about ordering a box for a teammate -- we love his boxes, they are beautifully made. He said he has a 3-4 month backlog right now.). Finding a good used box (especially right when you need it) is almost like winning the lottery.
What are you guys telling newbies about flyball boxes (whether they are newbies to your club who want a box of their own, or a new club purchasing their own equipment)?
Does anybody out there have box plans that they are willing to include in my book? Or a link to plans on their website that I can include in the appendix? I'm afraid to just tell readers to Google "flyball box plans" because right there in the top 5 results are antiquated designs from 1998... Any box makers out there want to be included in the appendix? The box makers I know of are Eric Tindall, Dan Phillips, Mike Miller, and Mike Freda -- who else is out there actively taking box orders? Is Norm Glover still making them?
It seems like getting access to a flyball box is one of the biggest issues a flyball newbie has to deal with. Would love to hear your advice and thoughts.
