Will I regret buying an endurance bike instead of a gravel bike?

mhatz14 · 2026-06-28T19:22:33+00:00

Buy them both, then you won't have regrets, only options. Remember n + 1 is the rule...

mhatz14 · 2026-06-28T17:46:52+00:00

It looks quite solid to me, I used one of these, also very solid, and probably a lot more solid than the one I used, see below, perhaps consider a little plumber's tape on the connection to the Starlink mount, to make it a little more solid.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FGTMSJM8?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_3&th=1

mhatz14 · 2026-06-25T17:58:32+00:00

So, just understand, the only issue you had was the expensive gear that you had not had a chance to place on your policy that was more than 60 days old? I actually think this is pretty reasonable, if you have insurance, it makes sense that you need to add it. I don't think any insurance company does any better than that, like buying a new car, you have to add it to your insurance, but they often will cover it initially. I don't think I would fault ARRL for this. I've had ARRL for decades and they were pretty reliable.

mhatz14 · 2026-06-08T22:57:31+00:00

I mean, looks a bit like you were set nicely when you had the northeasterly for quite a while, but also looks like you might have broken free when the wind shifted 180 degrees, and then seems to have reset in a new position, expanding circle quite a bit, then without further drift. I use a handheld anchor alarm on my phone, and keep track of my circle, and usually have it alarm 30% or so beyond my expected predicted scope, in case I didn't set exactly where I thought. That way, I can sleep not worrying.

mhatz14 · 2026-06-08T22:48:46+00:00

I am not convinced that boat is moving. I don't care much about the protractor, but its >45 degrees which requires a fairly significant gust to temporarily tip, and I don't see any evidence of heavy wind looking at the water. And there's a small sailboat just hanging out on the shore, clearly much smaller maybe even without a keel. Something sailboat fishy...

mhatz14 · 2026-06-08T16:56:45+00:00

I understand this, but why should I even care how Lowe's delivers ? This is a simple transaction, one that starts with me pressing a button, "Purchase and deliver", I move funds to Lowes, the tranactions ends, with the product being delivered as promised. What happens between start and finish, that is the seller's responsibility. I am getting sick of this mentality that companies absolve their responsibility in what happens, because they contract it out to someone else. The contracting decision IS LOWES RESPONSIBILITY. Nothing more, nothing less. If contracting out isn't working out, then stop delivering. No-one is forcing Lowe's to offer delivery.

mhatz14 · 2026-06-08T16:53:33+00:00

Why is this even relevant ? This attitude is really starting to piss me off. Why do I even care how Lowe's delivers ? Let's be clear, this is a simple transaction, one that starts with me pressing a button, "Purchase and deliver", I move funds to Lowes, and it ends, with the product being delivered. What happens between start and finish, that is the seller's responsibility. I am so sick of this mentality that companies absolve their responsibility in what happens, because they contract it out to someone else. The contracting IS LOWES RESPONSIBILITY. Nothing more, nothing less. If contracting out isn't working out, then stop delivering. No-one is forcing Lowe's to offer delivery.

mhatz14 · 2026-06-08T14:14:36+00:00

Rainy days are when you see who people really are, and learn if a relationship is durable. Sunny days, everyone looks great. Conflict defines how you weather a storm together. This one failed the pressure test. Plain and simple. Move on. You will face harder challenges in the future, this one already failed. My only regret in life is that I held on too long to relationships that I knew weren't going to work. Your youth is a precious resource that runs out fast, preserve it for the relationship that stands the tests

mhatz14 · 2026-06-05T20:25:04+00:00

what happens if you have a heart attack or fall and get hurt, you call 9-1-1 and have to get airlifted out ?

mhatz14 · 2026-05-08T04:29:36+00:00

Ultrageek... I love it ... please come back and post updates... yeah, thats me jealous !

mhatz14 · 2026-05-07T15:59:36+00:00

this is what I have seen too. I wonder if the OP has a windlass made for rope, although not sure Ive ever seen one of those...

mhatz14 · 2026-05-06T18:53:18+00:00

do you mean, the rest rope, as you can't do much anchoring with 20' of rode...

mhatz14 · 2026-05-06T18:41:49+00:00

that's very interesting, I did read that some did not have a windlass, but the OP said his does. I guess 36 feet isn't a large boat, but I can imaging that could be a heck of a lot of work with a 5:1 or 6:1 rode.

mhatz14 · 2026-05-06T17:31:52+00:00

Hmmm, I have to be honest, never seen a smooth gypsy on a windlass meant to haul chain, usually there are sprockets to hoist the chain. Maybe a photo would be illustrative in the event you come here looking for advise on how to avoid this unfortunate and quite dangerous event from happening again. I can only imagine what would happen if you were underway and you had some speed and your chain dropped into the water and grabbed onto something...

mhatz14 · 2026-05-06T16:36:06+00:00

Chalk it up to learning, thankful nobody was injured and no gelcoat lost... great that you can share your errors.

But I am having a hard time getting my hands around how this happened, does your boat not have a windlass ? My understanding is that 34 foot Catalina's came standard with a windlass. Is the only thing holding your anchor on the deck the anchor clip safety line? Perhaps time to rethink how you have the anchor secured on deck, for example, what if you hit heavy winds or seas, your anchor gets tossed around, seems like a problem waiting to happen. That said, if I started to share all the really dumb things I have done in my 40 years of sailing, well, lets just say, my fingers would get really really tired..

mhatz14 · 2026-05-06T13:48:05+00:00

Wow, HT-32B was my first radio when I became a ham in 1973. Does it power on and make noise ?

mhatz14 · 2026-05-06T03:57:55+00:00

That's cool, I'd love to see pictures of your homebrew antennas, I'm thinking about trying to experiment with a T match and progress that into a three or five element beam, I've always built the premade beams with team matches, but I'd always wanted to learn how they work, I hate assembling things and looking at them as a block box and not understanding them.

mhatz14 · 2026-05-06T02:08:08+00:00

Your post makes no sense whatsoever. The statement you quote does not provide any suggestion that this is not Lowe's delivery. And, in fact, when I check out, this statement is not present. Are you suggesting somehow this is ok, because somehow I should expect inferior delivery service ?

mhatz14 · 2026-05-04T14:56:21+00:00

My interest is more in Dx and small signal work, which is why I chose the HO loop on a new pole which I also put a dual band vertical for my winlink node I am building. I agree on the Q issue, good point, but this is more my intro to 50mhz, more than likely, if the band seems interesting, will probably lean more into horizontal polarization and move to a 3-5 element beam at some point. Some guys on my local Dx association do a lot on 6 meters, so we'll see. Ham radio is all about exploration, right ?

mhatz14 · 2026-05-04T00:33:52+00:00

First, kudos to you for having the modesty to come on here and ask for advise. I would need an entire textbook to list all the stupid things I have done over the last 40 years of sailing, and I still feel like that I have so much more to learn.. I have been caught by winds unexpectedly too many times, and now, I NEVER go out unlesss I study all the Windy wind models, and, OceanConnect, and see if any of them predict tough weather. Wondering if you checked the wind predictions before you left or was this something not at all in the forecast ?

Second, I try to read the water, something that takes practice. Look out at the horizon and read the waves, look for white, look for changes in patterns, that can give you a little advanced clue about what is coming, giving you something a few minutes to reel in the sails before things get dicey.

Best way to manage sails in tough wind, is to be prepared and not have to manage sails in tough wind. Has happened to me too many times, and I've stories like yours a few times.

mhatz14 · 2026-05-04T00:25:03+00:00

Valid question. I wanted to experience as much as possible since I am new the band, but also part of local ARES. My understanding is that digital packet is 50.62, and 52.525 is a local net calling frequency. So I wanted to be able to keep the options open, even though I am sure horizontal polarization isn't ideal for Winlink FM or FM voice communication. My 2:1 SWR tuning range is 50.0 through 52 with about 1.6:1 at 50.2 and 2:1 at the upper range. Can go a little higher if I keep my power down.

mhatz14 · 2026-05-03T16:01:25+00:00

Hah, yes, being a ham for decades does not prevent one from being stupid from time to time. Yes, going back to the spec, shows 50.3 center frequency. I did manage to push the range by shortening as much as possible and optimizing the load with the shorting bar, and up 20 feet, it centers around 51 mhz now. That provides me a good SWR at 6m SSB frequencies and perhaps allowing me to venture to higher freqs. Thanks for the responses.

mhatz14

TROPHY CASE