Don't know what to tell you... I get more than "line of sight" with mine... look at a map and see all the land and islands between Center Harbor bay and anywhere else on the lake. I talk from there to meredith Bay, Wolfboro Bay and if I'm by 3 mile I can hear conversations down by the Alton end of the lake... My antenna is pretty cheap in comparison to others... but placed on my hard top (total of about 16' off the water) it works great???
I installed my own and attached the connector myself... its not a soldered connecter either... and it is fine. If I could do it, any one could!
Just go to channel 12 and say... "Is anyone from FishLakeWinni out there?" and I'm sure you'll get a response. Even on a day like today, I did. Good luck
Your best situation is having an 8’ antenna that is mounted as high as practical. VHF radio communications in the open sea is line of sight, in a place like Winni signals are line of sight, bounced by structures and absorbed by foliage, communications can be unpredictable.