Tight Steering

[one fish wonder]

My steering on my boat has been stiff the past two outings. I have cable on my 150 Opti. Any suggestions and or input is welcomed. Thanks in advance.

Todd

[DL]

If its not hydraulic, get it checked. When mine did that it broke not soon after it started...

[Greg E.]

The first thing is do as much of a visual inspection as possible to make sure nothjng has bent, kinked or moved your cable. Probablly won't find anything not but it is worth looking.

If the cable is starting to fray internally then the problem will only get worse and I do not know of any fix other than replacing the cable.

My steering cable wore out on my 2001 Triton last year. Your repair choices are replace the cable or put in Hydraulic steering.
I put in Hydraulic.

If you can afford it, put in the hydraulic, I cannot not believe the
difference it made in boat handling and cruising but it is pricey
(over a grand now I think).

Greg E.

[DL]

When mine broke, I had Angler's Marine put Hydraulic steering on the boat. I wanted to get it done sooner, but balked at spending the cheese...then at a FOCL night tourney, the choice was made for me. It was around $1100 for the sea star unit. I have a Merc 150 so the price may be comparable as it was probably 2004 when I had it replaced.

[Oldschool]

You have a zerk grease fitting on the engine steering housing, lubricate it. Turn the engine all the way over to extend the shaft and check for signs of rust. Clean the shaft and lubricate it. Detach the steering rod and check the engine for any binding that is independant of the steering. Run the steering rod back and forth when disconnected to check for binding. If everything is smooth, clean of any rust and lubricated, it should be OK. If the cable is damaged, then replace the cable.
Tom

[Gerryjig]

SeaStar make a "smaller" hydraulic kit called Baystar and is rated up to 150hp. I bought mine for $475 and easily installed it myself at home. E-Bay search Baystar Hydraulic Steering Kit.......don't bother with cable replacement at all. Matter of fact Todd, I will help with the install over a couple of beers

[one fish wonder]

Thanks all for your responses. Gerry, if I check the cable and I find issues, I might have to pick up a 12 pack and give you a ring. Thanks for the offer and c ya around.

Todd

[Munsey]

I had the same problem.
I second taking the boat to Anglers and have Hydraulic steering put on. That's what I did.
What a difference with hydaulic.

That 12 pack sounds like a cheaper way to go.
Of course installing the steering first.

[npangler]

my neighbors cable went bad and we replaced it with hydrolic steering it took us one day if your a do it yourself kind of guy you might want to do it yourself. on a scale of difficulty 1 to 10 I give
it a 8.

[some guy]

10 being easy or 10 being hard?

[Gerryjig]

the toughest part for changing cable to hydraulic on my Champ was the removal of the old cable!.....the hydraulic was 2x as easy, couple of hours unless you hit a snag or two....offer still stands Todd, beers or not. Give me a day or two notice though ok

[mark poulson]

A tip. The beer comes after the installation. Otherwise you'll really have "tight" steering.

[Oldschool]

1FW, it's been a few days, have you checked out the problem?
Don't have any idea of how old the rig is, but a grand can buy you a new color Lowrance GPS/sonar unit witn $$ left over for the original cable steering, that worked for how long?
Hydralic steering systems are great, the cheaper units tend to lag and loose steering response time.
Let us know how your project ends up. Buy your friend beer and let the experts install your steering unit, we may be fishing on the same water.
Tom

[one fish wonder]

1FW, it's been a few days, have you checked out the problem?
Don't have any idea of how old the rig is, but a grand can buy you a new color Lowrance GPS/sonar unit witn $$ left over for the original cable steering, that worked for how long?
Hydralic steering systems are great, the cheaper units tend to lag and loose steering response time.
Let us know how your project ends up. Buy your friend beer and let the experts install your steering unit, we may be fishing on the same water.
Tom

My boat is a 2004 Basscat Sabre with a 2004 150Opti. I keep my boat in storage and have not had a chance to go check it out. i will get by there on Saturday. I wanted to go prefish tomorrow at Perris but is not happening. This thing called work is in the way. Thanks all.

Todd

[Kevin]

Todd, thanks for keeping all of us filled in.

[one fish wonder]

Kevin,
u r welcome. i am going to work today. I will take the 73 to the 405. I will eat lunch around noon. Look for a 12 pm update today. Have a great day u richard head!

Todd

[mark poulson]

What, no potty break schedule? Don't leave poor Kevin hanging!