wrote in message
oups.com...
I continue to feel that boats in most areas except remote inland lakes
should carry a VHF.

Here's a story of a collision that could have been *easily* prevented
if the boaters had a VHF. Or flares. The fact that the battery was dead
on the boat makes a good case for a hand-held VHF on the smallest boats
and a hand-held backup for larger craft.

The tug and barge may have been technically wrong, but the other
boaters could have been "dead right" without a couple of lucky breaks.


I have struggled with the decision of whether or not to install a fixed
mount VHF radio/antenna on my 20 footer. I have a pretty reliable Standard
Horizon HX260S hand held VHF (subject to battery discharge and without the
range of a fixed mount) and we always carry our cell phones when on the
boat. We are near shore boaters on Lake Erie because of the size of the
boat and do not go out when storms or bad seas are predicted.

The $200 for the purchase of the fixed mount VHF and antenna/ratchet mount
is not the concern...I just wonder if it is overkill for our situation
considering the emergency communication hardware we already have.