Another brand to consider Standard Horizon Intrtrep. I have owned both ICOM and Standard Horizon. I liked the Intrepid model better for one reason. It held up to getting soaked with water rain or saltwater. My ICOMs all had short lifes and I paid a lot more for them. Working with ICOM on warranties was a pain. Standard Horizon I never had to send one back. Both brands transmitted and recieved well. The idea you have to have a 8 foot antenna is not true anymore. I use the 3-4 footers with booster (not sure name is correct). I use these on all my boats from 20 to 32 feet, in Bay and Offshore. No problems in sending or recieving. In the Bay the shorter antennas are not in the way as much esp. if you are throwing hardware. Which ever brand you chose make sure you have these options Submersible (meeting Coast Guard Code), DSC to interface with your GPS, NMEA data input/output (display on radio screen), Noise canceling on your mic with channel selector on mic, programmable channels for scanning, Channel 16 priority, NOAA weather alert, one button access to Channel 16 or Channel 9, and back lit display. Sorry for long reply but if you are going Offshore this piece of equipment is very valuable and listed options are what I must have on my VHF. Reading specs on VHFs specs are not that different just options.
