A trolling motor having reverse battery protection such that an inadvertent reversal of the battery leads, as when connecting the trolling motor to a battery, will not cause unwanted operation of the trolling motor or damage to the trolling motor circuitry. Electric power is supplied across the EL layer, which is located between the linear electrode and the opposite electrode, via the linear electrode and the opposite electrode. FIFO control circuitry limits the number of data elements transferred in response to the state of the memory array including almost empty or almost full. The software system includes program components for controlling the hardware and providing a data structure in which personal travel information selected by the user is placed in an agenda table.