boat steering

[shootnmiss09]

Hi!

I have a new to me 1983 lund 17' boat, with a 1983 evinrude 90 HP engine. It is my first boat that is not a tiller. It seems to steer really hard, it doesnt matter if I'm driving or not driving, or left or right, it steers difficult. From what I can tell it has a rack and pinion steering setup. I was hoping you could help me troubleshoot what us causing the problem. Whether its the steering wheel, cable, or motor?

 

[Fed]

Re: boat steering

Disconnect the drag link between the cable end & the motor tiller then you can see if it's a cable or motor problem.

 

[shootnmiss09]

Re: boat steering

Thanks for the reply, but I'm new to this! Could you please explain a little better for me!

 

[Fed]

Re: boat steering

Disconnect the steering cable from the motor then try turning the wheel and see if it's free to turn.
Then try moving the motor by hand & see if it's free to move by hand.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: boat steering

And you don't need to actually remove the cable from the engine (you'd likely have to pull the engine to do that), just disconnect the bolt at the end of the steering cable where it connects to the arm on the engine. After that the engine should be able to turn on it's own so you can tell if the problem is with the engine or steering. More than likely it's a steering cable, but you want to verify that.

If you do find that the problem is with the steering there's a good chance you'll end up replacing both the helm and cable, as many of the cables that were made in the 70's and 80's are no longer available or else very expensive.