There are a lot of cheap ways to hold a boat still in the water, but what I need is convienance. For instance when I am trolling a windy bank and need to rig a rod, It would be nice if the boat was still on the same side of the lake when I finish rigging. The design of the Power Pole is fairly simple and is actually going to be a hard design to better. So, If I can't better it, I'll try to make it cheaper. Air power is a lot cheaper than hydraulic, but not near as powerfull, smooth, or controllable. Another issue is my boat is small and I don't want a pole sticking 2 or 3 ft higher than my engine because it will play heck on the back swing of a baitcaster. so I am figuring on trying to build one that will only be about 2.5 ft tall so it will only anchor to about 5 ft.