That radio is solely for use on the 2 meter ham band. If you are not far from shore, you could use it to communicate with other Hams on their repeaters. It might be a good source for
local information while coastal cruising. The nice thing is it would probably
work fine through your existing
marine VHF antenna.
Keep in mind that you have to have a Ham
license (a Technician class would be fine), and like
Marine VHF, communication is line of sight with a repeater, though repeaters are often linked together to cover a wide area.