This is easy. Hydraulic. Prices have come down. I just installed a Baystar system for less than $500. If you are rebuilding one of these boats, consider replacing the steering. For boats with 150 HP or less, the Teleflex Baystar system works great. For bigger engines, you need the Seastar system. I have installed both. Last weekend, I removed the cable steering from our family's 17' Glasstron bowrider w/ 135 Optimax and installed the Baystar system. Huge improvement. Easier to steer, and almost no feedback (you can let go of the wheel in a turn and it stays where it is). Our family boat was always impossible to steer. Several years ago, we had a new cable steering system installed by the dealer. It was somewhat better for a year or two, and then it was worse than before - almost impossible to turn the wheel, particularly when the boat was bow high, plowing water. And much harder to turn to the left (which is true with all normally rotating outboards to some degree). When I removed the cable system I discovered a dark, horrifying secret, which explains why the boat was always hard to steer. The hole in the side of the splash well does not line up with the steering mount tube on the engine. Rather than making a new hole so that the cable could come along under the rear deck and go directly into the steering tube on the engine, the dealer instead had (twice) removed the engine, hooked up the steering, and then forced the engine back on the transom, which caused the cable to make a pretty sharp turn in order to go through the cable hole in the side of the splash well. Now, this is pretty stupid, because the end of the cable is essentially a 3 piece telescoping rod. In a nutshell - it is not designed to bend, like a cable. Every time the boat was turned - particularly to the left, it forced the cable end (rod) to make two sharp turns. Didn't work.... So - if your cable steering is really stiff - check to make sure the cable comes STRAIGHT out of the side of the splashwell into the engine steering mount tube. If not, then elongate the hole in the fiberglass or remove the cable from the engine, drill a new hole and line it up. Or... just put in hydraulic steering, and enjoy effortless steering for not much money. It is a great do-it-yourself, half-day project for less than $500 for most boats. Hope this helps someone out there.... Markbano
