I just purchased marine vhf for about $70. Its not waterproof but you can get a waterproof bag for $10 or less. For emergency use this is great. The hand held with a short antennae does not have a long range as stated but will work better than smoke signals or blowing a whistle. You just need to make sure you have good batteries when you go out. The FRS radios have gotten much better at the range they will work in. They are also legal to use for casual conversation (i.e. keeping track of the kids in the dink), the VHF is not supposed to be used for that purpose. The new long range FRS will get almost the same range as the hand held VHF in open water (or land) so should be the choice for personal communication. If its for safety reasons I would opt for the VHF with WP bag.

Just my .02

Clayton