I have my second PD trolling motor, neither is an I pilot. I just felt the need to offer some input on the versatility of the base unit. I now have a co-pilot and auto pilot Riptide, which is a good part of the way along to an I-Pilot. I shoot docks, fish emergent timber, troll jigs and cranks, slow troll shorelines while casting points of interest......You name it. I had cable steer motors and didn't care for the hands on , full time operation of them. True, in tight, fast conditions a cable steer can get to business in a hurry. I learned to pay attention to the situation at hand and have no trouble fishing everything that I could with a cable motor, and get the benefit of the hands off for much more. The auto pilot makes trolling alone enjoyable, impossible with any cable motor I have been around. this motor was no giveaway and I will upgrade it to ipilot one day. If I had the cash at the time, the full boat Terrova would be in it's place. In my opinion, there's nothing above this for ALL that we do. There is a learning curve, but I believe you're up to the task.