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Subscription Only one more question Sirs...how much money is for me to suscribe from Europe , to suscribe per month or per year , if so ,in US Dollars or in Euros.. .Also,could I seean small piece of an recente old preview of your magazine before paying so that I can see an make up an idea about what your magazine looks like inside. Juan José Arenas Álvarez. Cantabria, Spain On The Wire is strictly an electronic publication and is not available in printed form. Thanks for your interest, -ed. Cat Box Article I'm considering making the cat- box from your article way back in 1996 (sic). Have you make any changes to your design? Any suggestions/ recommendations? Blair Feldman Blair, Thanks for the interest in the site. I am using the same box to this day. I did make a change a couple of years ago. Notice the 18" forward compartment (best seen in Figure 1 - Interior parts). I used to keep life jackets and a tool box in this area. If properly positioned, they would fit fine. But after a sail, I would be stowing the sail/boom into the rear of the box and have it hit the tool box which had shifted. The sail would be 4 or 5 inches out of the sail box, but the tool box would be stopping it. I then had to go to the front of the box, open it, reposition the tool box, then go back to push in the sail the rest of the way. So I eliminated the foward compartment. The forward/aft bulkhead was removed, and the shelf was moved all the way forward. Now, the life jackets go on the shelf from the rear (over the rudders), and the tool box goes in last just behind the sails. Now everything is accessible from the rear and I don't even open the front door anymore. The sails slide in with no crap to hang up on at the forward end. I reccommend you don't even bother building a forward compartment or door. The only other issue is that the door has lost some integrity due to UV exposure. (There are some cracks around the hinge screws.) It has lasted this long, though, so I will probably just replace it with the same material. Hope this helps. Enjoy the project. This design beats the coffin design hands down. -ed. Getting Kids into Sailing This would be great for the sport: Hobie and other manufactures has made billions on us.  If they were to provide 2-3 Waves (used 14's or ?) to each fleet , experienced members could take turns training the young ones 8-18 yrs old.  This is the time to start, like I am doing with my grand daughter (8 yrs. old).  The sport is down a lot and will die if we do not pass this on to our kids.  These boats could sold at the end other the year and replaced at beginning of season.  This should give Hobie a tax write off? Please pass this on to anyone you think could help. Doug Snell H17 Sport #6325 "Stress Free" While Hobie could indeed help in this endeavor, couldn't the same thing be accomplished with the participant's boats?  I still have a vision of a "fun sail" event in which cat sailors would provide their boats along with gear (PFD's, trapseats, wet suits) and offer free instruction. This could be coordinated with another local event, such as a beach festival, so you have a good crowd available. Used boats that are "for sale" could be displayed. Vendors could display new boats. Fleets could be there to offer support and racing information. If such an event could be made successful, I think you'd have Hobie throwing boats at you for the next year's event. -ed. Mark Dawson and the QB2 I am delighted to see OTW back .. well done.. Sadly my Quest cat QB2 is in pieces in the backyard as our Queensland heat and humidity has given the kiss of death to the ply hulls .. Am still undecided whether to go for another cat, preferably with glass hulls such as a hobie or similar, or try to reskin the QB one last time... However after reading some of the recent OTW articles the itch to get back on the water has re surfaced. keep up the good work. ( I still wear the PWC target shirt you sent me some years back) cheers Mark Dawson, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Good to hear from you, Mark. Sorry about the QB2, but I thought you'd have bought the plans for the Bat Cat by now! -ed. My Ship Has Come In Tired of the 40 X 40 X 40 Plan? You know: Work 40 hours per week for someone else for 40 years, then receive a 40% reduction in pay! Is working for a "boss" too demeaning and unrewarding? Are you sick of depending on a job with too little pay and too many hours with no personal reward and even less future? If you're determined to retire in the next 2 - 5 years with enough income to have REAL Financial Independence and Freedom, and are not afraid to work for it, I can help you..... blah... blah... blah.... CALL ONLY IF YOU ARE SERIOUS! 1-800-675-7009... 40 copies of the same spam in 24 hours? All from some outfit called Institute for Global Prosperity? Now that's ridiculous. I've got a good mind to tell all my readers to call this number from a payphone everytime they stop to get gasoline. Don't tempt me. I just might do it.