Best Marine Radio?

[MSURoss]

Hey Guys,

I'm looking to get a marine radio for fishing on the great lakes...what do you all suggest?

Thanks

[fiker]

I have a hand held.  It's good for inland lakes, but not for way out on the great lakes.
Several of the guys in my club have radios installed.  Listening to them talk I don't know if one brand is any better than the other.  Not buying the cheapest one seems to be the ticket. 
The higher the wattage the better too.

I think the length and quality of the antenna is equally for even more important. 

Since marine radios are FM the higher the antenna the better.  Simply standing in my boat with my hand held does not give me a range that is far enough.   

I couldn't bring myself to drill holes in my Ranger for an antenna.  That's why I bought the hand held.  It is supposed to have a distance of I think 5 miles.  I'm not sure it does for broadcasting.  It does for listening.  I get weather alerts from a long way out.
When I fish with the guys in the club and their 9' antennas it seems like I hit it at least once on any trip.

[Slipkey]

I have a Raymarine 55 in my current boat and had a Uniden on the last boat. No complaints on either, though I like the Raymarine better.  On this boat, I have the Shakspeare 4' fiberglass antenna and the previous one had the 4' whip antenna.

I'd go with the whip antenna instead of the fiberglass.  Most of the time you're out, you're going to have it in the down position and the whip is easier to secure with a small clip to keep the tip from flopping around.   My fiberglass antenna has whacked the gunwale so many times during rough rides, that it's broken inside about 3" down from the tip.

That said, I'll stick with a handheld on my next boat. I'm considering removing my fixed-mount setup entirely this year, as I own a handheld and I've only turned on the radio once or twice in the last few years.  With cell phone coverage being so good, there's almost no reason to own one any more.  Lock masters all post phone numbers outside the locks so VHF is unnecessary there.   The weather apps on phones are better than what you get from the NOAA marine forecast loop. Last, even on the great lakes, you'll never be farther from shore than what the handheld can handle - especially on St. Clair and Erie.  It's a nice backup, but, unless you want to talk to other boats or listen to the guide chatter so you can follow the crowd, it's not really a necessity.  If the emergency factor is your primary concern, I'd suggest spending the money on an EPIRB instead.

[MSURoss]

Thanks for the feedback. Do you need one to be complaint with law? Looks like I may get a hand held, and it was be for safety reasons.

[Slipkey]

No, there's no Coast Guard requirement for VHF radio.  You only need the signaling (mirror/flag) and noise making (whistle/horn) devices to be compliant from a distress signaling standpoint.

[Firefighter Jeff]

No, there's no Coast Guard requirement for VHF radio.  You only need the signaling (mirror/flag) and noise making (whistle/horn) devices to be compliant from a distress signaling standpoint.

  Was inspected by the Coast Guard at the Selfridge launch in May.  Didn't think he asked about a mirror or flags, but they did flares. Also if they were within expiration dates.

[djkimmel]

What you need and what is recommended can be two different things, especially if you find yourself in an emergency. I have had a few situations where there was no cell phone signal or the signal was so poor dialing out and keeping on a call was difficult, and that was on the Detroit River the last time. It keeps getting better but every bit of safety advice says NEVER rely on one item for navigation, and that goes for all safety equipment.

If you plan on fishing offshore or in places up North of Saginaw considering a VHF radio is a good backup to the cell phone, especially if your cell phone gets wet because your boat is sinking (happened to a friend two years ago on Saginaw Bay).

A waterproof, floating, portable VHF radio can work but yes, VHF is line of sight and limited distance. I have a Shakespeare indash radio with a 4 foot whip antennae and even that can sometimes be difficult to communicate 10 or more miles, which I have been farther than that from another radio or rescuer a number of times on the Great Lakes.

I have the longer fiberglass antennae, and would install that and secure it carefully if I was doing more offshore Great Lakes fishing again to make sure I can get in touch with an additional device from a distance.

I also carry a signal flag, and orange smoke flares for daytime signaling because I have been around a few people who ended up 'signaling' with shouting and hat waving because their flares didn't work and they had nothing left to signal with. We almost missed a bass boat in huge swells drifting offshore in Lake Erie one year because they had nothing else to signal with and were quickly drifting away from shore already several miles out.

Not a great place to be in. I would have spotted them immediately if they had something more visible than a waving hat... Just some additional information to consider and base your decision on where you think you may find yourself remembering that your GPS and cell phone can easily fail you, so have backups, including low tech options like a compass and visible signals.

[fiker]

So how does one attach a 4' antenna to a bass boat.and have the cover still work?  Where do you guys attach it?

[Slipkey]

So how does one attach a 4' antenna to a bass boat.and have the cover still work?  Where do you guys attach it?

It depends on the length of the back deck on your boat.  Mine is on the inside gunwale along the driver's side, but I have a big enough back deck that it fits comfortably.  On my Skeeter ZX202 the ratchet mount was mounted on the gunwale behind the throttle (just past where the lever cleared) and ran all of the way to the back.  It was just long enough to fit.

[djkimmel]

Mine folds down on the gunwale on the passenger side because I had to install the radio under the passenger dash. I have a padded arm rest on the gunwale and the antennae folds down onto that. The passenger still has room to rest an arm.

[fiker]

In those locations, when raised up, the antenna doesn't get in the way of casting?

[djkimmel]

I'm sure someone with real talent could still whack the antennae on my boat but I only put it up when I need to use it for something usually. Once in awhile I've left it up when communicating often with someone but not very often.