I am a first time boater and bought a 1987 21' bayliner that had a new motor
installed in 1998. I was wondering if there is supposed to be some play in
the steering (Volvo 4cyl I/O 120hp), and at times is too heavy for my 11 yr
old son to turn the wheel comfortably - I guess we got spoiled when we drove
a 1985 19' Mark Twain with power steering. We did drive a 1986 Bayliner
that had horrible steering, that at time was nearly improssible to turn and
had a tough time holding a course. Is this a Bayliner design issue or a
wear/adjustment issue?

Is the heavy steering and some play of maybe 4 inches 'normal' for a boat of
this size?

Can it be adjusted or does something have to be replaced or lubed?

Would a Clymer manual be a good maint procedure source?
thanks,
John

Check the mounting of the steering assembly behind the instrument panel.
I found the mounting nuts to be loose on my 1998 19' bowrider allowing the
rack and pinion gear to not always properly mesh. Once tightened up, the
steering is again very smooth with minimal play.
If that's not it, you may have to lube the cable or replace it. Steering
should not be a problem, even without power assist.

"John Cadella" wrote in message
. ..
I am a first time boater and bought a 1987 21' bayliner that had a new
motor
installed in 1998. I was wondering if there is supposed to be some play
in
the steering (Volvo 4cyl I/O 120hp), and at times is too heavy for my 11
yr
old son to turn the wheel comfortably - I guess we got spoiled when we
drove
a 1985 19' Mark Twain with power steering. We did drive a 1986 Bayliner
that had horrible steering, that at time was nearly improssible to turn
and
had a tough time holding a course. Is this a Bayliner design issue or a
wear/adjustment issue?

Is the heavy steering and some play of maybe 4 inches 'normal' for a boat
of
this size?

Can it be adjusted or does something have to be replaced or lubed?

Would a Clymer manual be a good maint procedure source?
thanks,
John

thanks, I will check the mounts behind hte instrament panel. I noticed the
steering is greased where the cable attaches behind the engine on the
transom.

I was in West Marine for something else today and I saw they have NFB (no
feed back) steering replacement kits.
they didn't have a price on them though,
john

"William G. Andersen" wrote in message
news:al2Yc.110153$Lj.57269@fed1read03...
Check the mounting of the steering assembly behind the instrument panel.
I found the mounting nuts to be loose on my 1998 19' bowrider allowing the
rack and pinion gear to not always properly mesh. Once tightened up, the
steering is again very smooth with minimal play.
If that's not it, you may have to lube the cable or replace it. Steering
should not be a problem, even without power assist.

"John Cadella" wrote in message
. ..
I am a first time boater and bought a 1987 21' bayliner that had a new
motor
installed in 1998. I was wondering if there is supposed to be some play
in
the steering (Volvo 4cyl I/O 120hp), and at times is too heavy for my 11
yr
old son to turn the wheel comfortably - I guess we got spoiled when we
drove
a 1985 19' Mark Twain with power steering. We did drive a 1986 Bayliner
that had horrible steering, that at time was nearly improssible to turn
and
had a tough time holding a course. Is this a Bayliner design issue or a
wear/adjustment issue?

Is the heavy steering and some play of maybe 4 inches 'normal' for a
boat
of
this size?

Can it be adjusted or does something have to be replaced or lubed?

Would a Clymer manual be a good maint procedure source?
thanks,
John

There may be a grease fitting on the end of the housing, just in front of
where the steering rod to the drive shaft comes out. (I can't find one on
mine so I just lightly coat that rod with grease.)
There are kits to lube the cable; I've seen others say that if you have to
do that, you may as well replace the steering cable. Makes me think it's
difficult to get to the cable to lube it, and that's probably only a
temporary fix..

"John Cadella" wrote in message
t...
thanks, I will check the mounts behind hte instrament panel. I noticed
the
steering is greased where the cable attaches behind the engine on the
transom.

I was in West Marine for something else today and I saw they have NFB (no
feed back) steering replacement kits.
they didn't have a price on them though,
john

"William G. Andersen" wrote in message
news:al2Yc.110153$Lj.57269@fed1read03...
Check the mounting of the steering assembly behind the instrument panel.
I found the mounting nuts to be loose on my 1998 19' bowrider allowing
the
rack and pinion gear to not always properly mesh. Once tightened up, the
steering is again very smooth with minimal play.
If that's not it, you may have to lube the cable or replace it. Steering
should not be a problem, even without power assist.

"John Cadella" wrote in message
. ..
I am a first time boater and bought a 1987 21' bayliner that had a new
motor
installed in 1998. I was wondering if there is supposed to be some
play
in
the steering (Volvo 4cyl I/O 120hp), and at times is too heavy for my
11
yr
old son to turn the wheel comfortably - I guess we got spoiled when we
drove
a 1985 19' Mark Twain with power steering. We did drive a 1986
Bayliner
that had horrible steering, that at time was nearly improssible to
turn
and
had a tough time holding a course. Is this a Bayliner design issue or
a
wear/adjustment issue?

Is the heavy steering and some play of maybe 4 inches 'normal' for a
boat
of
this size?

Can it be adjusted or does something have to be replaced or lubed?

Would a Clymer manual be a good maint procedure source?
thanks,
John