Ok,, I was talking to some of the guys in the sailboat website,, I think it BLOWBOATERSONLY.com,, and they has some really neat Ideas on where we could stick our VHF antennas,, ,,, Just Kidding Cash,,,, Im meeting with a DEREMA rep (supplier of radios and gps for westmarine, boatus, etc.) today over lunch and I will see if he has anything new in the line of smaller antenna's or good hidden placement that will work.

Zero Patience and I were talking today and we think we're on to something... Z/P found an antenna whip that is removable from the base. We're thinking of mounting it just above the glove box on the far left side of the dash. The idea is to attach the 36" stainless whip while running and remove it otherwise. The trick will be the thru dash mounting process. We're looking for the right hardware to hold the base and which has a good looking cap. When removed, with cap in place, no ugly mast to look at!

CA$H

In my Cafe, my antenna is mounted upright in the back of the closet (across from the head)...works fine.

Like someone mentioned, it is line of sight transmission, so the higher the antenna the better. Doesn't seem like there is much of a way around that. Too bad no one makes a retractable one like a power antenna on a car, except 9 feet long.