2003 bayliner 245 sb steering mercury cruiser 5.0

[sk7499]

Hi all so I'm new to boating I'm not an experienced driver. But how do I tell if I have a steering problem. I feel like I have play in the steering wheel

when the boat is in the water no key in and it' turned off I have a lot of play i the wheelthe wheel .is this normal as I know in a car the steering is pretty tight.is a boat suppose to be this loose.

I have something similar to the guy in this video when boat is off that is how my steering is... is it normal or do I have an issue Bayliner 245 sb 2003

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4BofVmTjcU


thanks for everyone' help I've asked a lot of questions and the community is very helpful thank you everyone

 

[Scott Danforth]

Welcome Aboard

all v-bow boats with a single propeller wander. there is always a bit of play in the steering

boats aint cars.

 

[sk7499]

thanks for the responce. my thing is the steering wheel is loose when i turn to the left or right. i need about 2-3 inches in each direction before steering wheel is hrder and it looks like it graps. Im not sure maybe this is normal im a newbie to boating so im not sure. I was hoping someone could send me a youtube video of there sterring wheel as they turn it do they have the same play back and forth even with the motor off. Im just worried its a gimble replacement as i read that thats the main issue for loose steering which i could live with but i dont want to fix something that isnt broken.

 

[Scott Danforth]

go back there and look.

you have slop in the helm, slop in the cable, slop in the gimble and slop in the actuator tie-rod.

 

[sk7499]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...A257C6633989E4A410F1A257C6633989&&FORM=VRDGAR

Here is what it looks like with the boat off. it appears to be very loose in the steering wheel. Is this normal 2 to 3 inch play

 

[Scott Danforth]

ignore the wheel. go back to behind the motor and video tape that while someone is moving the wheel for you. look at the end of the steering cable, actuator, tiller arm, etc. only by looking there will you know if you have an issue or not.

with a steering helm that has 3 turns lock to lock, that is about 2.7" of tiller arm movement per turn. typical 13" wheel has 41" of circumference. so 123" of wheel movement = 8" of tiller arm travel in the back of the boat. your 2" of wheel slop is about 1/8" of slop at the tiller arm assuming there is no slop in the helm and no slop in the actuator or pins. how much is the tiller arm moving on the pin. that is the major item to be concerned about.

some boats 2-3" of steering wheel slop is normal, some 4" is normal, some 1" is normal. depends on the helm, drive, actuator, etc.