EL, there are a number of good quality handhelds out there but none of them will compare to a fixed mount when it comes to range. The top end handhelds with a fully charged battery is going to have a 5-7 mile range, where as a cheap fixed mount with a "good" antenna should have a 20 mile line-of-site range.
I wouldn't hesitate to go with a "quality" handheld for Puget Sound use but would suggest a fixed mount for the Straits, and would definitely have a fixed mount on the coast with a handheld as a back-up.
P.S. been meaning to introduce myself for a while, I worked at Godfather's pizza about 15 years ago with you and your brother Craig, also , enjoy your Redondo reports, grew up fishing the pier and trolling just about everywhere from Redondo to Defiance.