It's been several years since the FCC required a Restricted Radio-telephone Permit (RR) for marine VHF operation, and those days are gone. It always seemed pointless to pay $60 for a licence, particularly since you didn't get a callsign, and a lot of people never bothered. This is how GMRS is going right now, only it's more money - and every five years, instead of lifetime. There's a history here of the public simply ignoring stupid radio licensing requirements. CB radio used to require filling out a simple form and paying $20 for a lifetime-issued callsign. Then it became $5 for the same thing. Finally, no licence was required at all and nobody had a callsign.
So it is now with marine VHF. You can get something roughly similar to a callsign. It's the MMSI, which actually is the identifier for your boat, not you. Using the amazing technological advances of modern VHF marine, people can send out a call specifically for your boat using Digital Selective Calling (DSC). You can also digitally send your GPS co-ordinates. Much like the misnamed "privacy codes" on GMRS/FRS, this isn't private at all. It just means that you don't have to listen to calls for everyone else to let people contact you.
Marine VHF radios are not very expensive. You can get the older (non-DSC) radios used for about $25 if you look around. Most of them have 25 watts output, which is about five times what you get from your BaoFeng or other Chinese HT for $50 new. While antennae are sold specifically for VHF marine, they are usually marked up, and 2 meter ham radio antennae will work with a slight shortening.
Legally, you have to be in a boat on the water to use marine VHF, or else go through a long expensive process to get a special licence for land operation. As a practical matter, however, you will commonly see marinas with marine VHF radios on land. You will find them in bars and restaurants along lakes and rivers. You will find them in lake homes. You will find them in trucks used to tow the boats. These are not low-life criminals. They are causing no interference. These are ordinary people ignoring a stupidly-restrictive law that nobody enforces.
If you are under the impression that there are FCC agents driving around and monitoring the VHF marine frequencies looking for violations, then you are delusional. If someone is creating a nuisance for a long period of time, then there might be an investigation. There will only be one, though, because people that aren't FCC agents went to the trouble of documenting, recording, and tracking down the offender. By spreading this ridiculous myth of a powerful, omniscient FCC constantly on the prowl for even the slightest violations, hams have created a monster. The worst sort of person hears these scary stories, and decides that it will be fun to out-smart the FCC, who will certainly be furiously searching for him as soon as he begins transmitting. Once he discovers that nobody shows up at his door days and weeks afterwards, the clown now realises that Nobody Can Stop Him. On top of that, he discovers that he can drive people into an impotent rage. Nice job there, fear-monger!
People are busted by the FCC. Not many, but it happens. In virtually all cases, it's because they are creating a nuisance or causing interference with licensed services. If you are disrupting commercial stations, then
they will come after you aggressively because those stations pay substantial "protection money" to the government for those frequencies. Violators that don't create complaints don't get caught. This isn't encouraging people to break the law, but it is pointing out that the chance of getting into any kind of trouble is really remote.
So, it's illegal for you to put a BaoFeng or PuXing in your car on VHF marine frequencies and talk to your spouse at home. If you did decide to do that, though, you would be pretty stupid to interfere with ports or locks, because you are costing somebody money and they will complain. It would be a pretty bad idea to harass boaters, or play music, or rant to no one in particular about your views. You shouldn't do that, okay?
I fail to see the harm inherent in using channels set aside for recreational boating, as long as those channels aren't overcrowded. Again, yes, it's illegal. Got it. It's also illegal to exceed the speed limit to pass that semi on the freeway, but it's not causing any harm. Get the distinction?
The standard 25 watt VHF FM marine radio will work in a vehicle, but it might very well create problems with certain electronic functions in a car. Modern vehicles have electronics in things like fuel injection that can be adversely affecting by RF in the power supply. I would say, "Get it installed professionally", but a professional installer is probably going to be aware that such use is illegal. The main problem is ensuring that the positive power cable runs directly to the battery, and that the negative cable is connected directly to the chassis. Another possible issue is high SWR created by an improperly tuned antenna. This can be solved by using an SWR meter and adjusting the antenna length or location until it reads "flat". You should use an SWR meter made for VHF, not for CB. Likewise, the standard marine radio will work at home with a power supply. You will need a regulated power supply that converts 117 VAC to 13.8 VDC (or 12 VDC). It will have to be capable of at least 10 amps DC current. Check the back of the marine radio, and it should have a current rating. Look, you can't just plug one of those wall transformers into the radio and transmit. The radio might light up, and maybe it will allow it to receive, but transmitting will probably ruin the radio. If the lights on the radio dim when you transmit, then the power supply that you are using doesn't have enough current. You might need 15 or even 20 amps for older radios, because they were less efficient. Don't screw around with inadequate power supplies. You are risking permanent damage to the radio that will probably be too expensive to justify fixing.
Here's an example. The Uniden UM380 draws 6A when transmitting at 25 watts. If you reduce the output power, then you need less current.
25 watts of VHF power is nothing to sneeze at. You can count on about 25 miles range, depending on elevation and terrain. If you are using a cheap ham radio magnetic mount antenna, make sure that it's rated to handle that much power. Many only go up to 10 watts.
One of the Chinese hand-held radios are another option, but there are legal implications. Most of the Chinese radios are not certified for Part 90, which means that they can pretty much only be used on ham radio. One exception is the PuXing Px-777, so if this concerns you, get one of those for VHF marine use. This certification issue is another stupid one, however. The FCC is dragging their feet in certifying these radios, because the conversion to narrow-band was supposed to be a huge cash cow for the "usual" Japanese radio producers. The FCC cares about the money, so they just don't give their stamp of approval to other radios. It's political, not technical. Anyone that has looked at these radios has seen that they basically are all the same. So, if the PuXing is certified, then the others are highly likely to be okay, too.
You know what's not going to happen? No one is going to bust you for using your BaoFeng (or other similar radio) as a VHF marine radio on your boat. That's just idiotic fear-mongering. The FCC can't tell if a radio is certified or not by listening to you, and they aren't listening in the first place.
Your Chinese HT is only 5 watts on VHF marine frequencies, but that's enough for about ten miles using a "real" antenna. A real antenna would be a mag-mount (or trunk-lip mount) two meter antenna trimmed for VHF marine use, or a 2 meter ground plane on your house. Remember, you don't have the use of ham radio repeaters with marine VHF. It's strictly simplex, radio to radio. Using your hand-held in your vehicle is not going to cause any issues because of the lower RF levels involved. No power supply is needed, because it runs on batteries. Again, tune your antenna with an SWR meter appropriate for VHF, like this.
The practical question with this whole option is, "Who are you going to talk to?". If there aren't any boaters around, that kind of limits you. Here in Minnesota, the lakes are frozen in the dead of winter and there isn't any river traffic. Even aside from that, boaters aren't inherently chatty with strangers. I could see this as somewhat compelling if you lived near the coast in a warmer climate, and if you knew people that are commonly out on boats. Beyond that, you are looking at a "talking to your buddy" situation where a cell phone might be a better option. In the case of a remote or rural area where cell service is spotty, this could work well to communicate with your base camp, your friend in town, another group hiking, etc. And, since it's a remote area, it wouldn't be likely to cause any issues with regular marine communications. It would still be illegal, though.
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