Okay, guys, here's the deal. I just talked to the guy at Nife Marine in Sherwood (Nife Marine, 4100 Rixie Road, Sherwood, AR 72117, 501-835-2929) and he said the conversion could in fact be done. The bad news is the part needed to make the conversion (variable speed control board) is about $200.00 and it would run an estimated $65.00 to $120.00 in labor, or an estimated total of as much as $325.00. He quite candidly said I ought to take that money and put some more with it and buy a new trolling motor with variable speed. I'm inclined to agree. Figure I'll just make do with the 5 speed and get on and off to try to maintain a near constant speed for now. Just wanted to pass this on to those of you who said you'd like to know.