Mounted VHF vs. Portable Hand held VHF?

[DC980]

Purchasing a bay boat and should I go with a portable hand held VHF radio
or a mounted VHF? Boat mostly used in the upper Chesapeake and it's
tributaries.
DC980

[Think Tweiss]

This question comes up once a month....search and you'll find more than you wanted to know.

Summary:

- A mounted VHF has 25 Watts of power with an antenna that stands up high above the boat....VHF is line of site.
A handheld is usually 6 Watts of output with an antenna that's partially blocked by your head.

- A mounted VHF is in your boat and ready to go when you need it. A handheld VHF may be on your desk when you are on the boat and/or have discharged batteries when you need it the most.

If you view your radio as a safety device, I strongly recommend a permanently mounted one. If you view it as a way to hear occasional weather, or listen in on others to help find the fish, then a handheld will probably be adequate.

Oh yes...and buy an Icom or a Standard .... don't go cheap on your VHF when you decide which way to go.

[150Sport]

Definitely fixed. Icom or Standard. Digital brand antenna as large and as high as you can use. Here's an illustration of how we mounted our 4' Digital 528 (w/Icom 402S). Got a good radio check 15 miles out from the USCG so far.

[Megabyte]

My first choice would be a mounted VHF, although I carry both. As others have mentioned, the mounted VHF gives you better range.
Here is the way I mounted mine on my Dusky.

[150Sport]

I guess I should've mentioned that we're also getting a handheld for a backup. So my answer should've been BOTH!