[dave603]

I bought a handheld at West Marine for around $79.00.
I got it mainly as a backup for my cell phone since I sometimes go off of Cape Cod and there is little to no Cell.
It is only good for 5 or six miles, but where I usually go there are a lot of other boaters around, and most, if not all salt water guys, have VHFs aboard.
My handheld also has both an AC and a DC charge connector, so if the handheld Battery dies I just connect to the boat battery.


Edit: If I did a lot of Salt water running, I would get a built in since the range is better.