littlekitch brought up an important feature I failed to mention. The Easy Troller plate is hinged and spring loaded which prevents damage to the plate if you accidentally forget to lift the plate up before taking off at full throttle. I have forgot a couple times and the hinged design prevented damage to the plate.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with how the plate works, but here's a quick rundown. The plate stays in the up position when not in use and when you're ready to troll you pull the cord which releases the plate and it drops down. If you're still moving forwards you may need to pop it in neutral to allow the plate to fully drop and lock into position. When done trolling you pull the cord again while moving forwards and burp the throttle which sends a short burst of water to push the plate up into the locked position.
I'm not sure if it's the design of the plate or just my boat, but boat control is not effected when using the plate.