cattledog:
How are you planning to "monitor the weather" on the water?Is this line of sight over open water with no obstacles? If so, you may be OK. In my experience, my D1 does not have anything like the range of my home router with wall and other obstacles. The D1 mini pro can use an external antenna.
Yes line of site out er the water and use a water sensor ds1820 and a bme280 for sir readings.