Roommate has one. I can't get enough of just sitting in the boat and watching it do all the work (not that I'm incompetent). And I can see it happening if there's fishing a specific bank. I see the FLW guys when they come up fishing the bluffs and at the pace they move, it'd be worth it. I know his is set up to follow a specific trail on his HDS12. Like Ronco, just set it and forget it.

The advantages of an electric steer with i-pilot are starting to outweigh the advantages of cable steer.  They turn plenty fast enough, I've owned a Terrova for 6 years after always tournament fishing with cable steers.  I'll never go back.   The only disadvantage of the electric steer in my eyes is that you cannot 'feel' the position of the motor.  It requires the occasional glance to see head positioning and direction.  Other than that, spot lock, auto pilot, and just about everything else make it hard to compete with.  You'll see lots more Terrovas and Ulterras in years to come.

There will always be diehards out there, but electric steer motors, their GPS capabilities, and their growing ability to communicate with sonar units is the wave of the future - and it's only going to get better.

That technology isn't new.  Back in 1999 on my new Ranger boat I had the Gator mount which worked great.  I don't understand why it was discontinued. 

I have always been surprised the pros aren't using terrovas on the deeper off shore lakes anyway. Deep cranking KY lake or drop shorting Oneida would be much easier with spot lock.

How do these handle current like on Pickwick?