2000 stratos 283 intruder w/ johnson 150 outboard (tough steering)

[fun on the water]

The steering on the boat is extremely tough to turn left and right at all speeds and while idling on the water. Is there something with the steering that I should look for or something I could do to make it turn easier (more freely)? I'm new to boat maintenance so a lot of terminology is foreign to me. Can someone give me some insight?

 

[GA_Boater]

Howdy, FOTW.

The steering on the boat is extremely tough to turn left and right at all speeds and while idling on the water.

So it's hard to steer in the water. How about on the trailer?

Have you tried greasing the swivel?

One thing to try is disconnecting the steering cable from the steering arm, 1 bolt. Then see if you can move the motor back and forth with little effort and crank the wheel from stop to stop while still disconnected. Whichever is hard to do is the culprit.

 

[ahicks]

If it checks out when checked as above, motors in that horsepower range (and bigger) frequently have hydraulic steering as they can be tough to turn (or impossible!), especially when trimmed out.

 

[Chris1956]

I disagree, whereas a lot of 150HP (and larger) motors have hydraulic steering, I have found that cable steering is just fine on those motors.

To amplify what GA has said, the swivel on the motor can get corroded, leading to hard steering, the steering rod, where it passes thru the tilt tube can get stiff, and the cable itself can get hard to turn. You need to find out which it is.

 

[TyeeMan]

It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that your steering cable is rusted up inside. Disconnect the motor from the cable (one bolt) and see how hard the steering wheel turns. If it's still hard to steer then you probably need a new steering cable and rack, , they come as a one piece.