possom813
Well-known member
I had to figure this out, so hopefully someone will find this useful in the future. Because going from scratch sucks :shock:
My boat is equipped with rack and pinion steering, similar to just about every other boat made in the past 30 years. A single cable setup that connects the motor and a steering arm that moves the motor. Pretty simple concept.
The motor that I ended up with is a 1970 Johnson 40hp that was set up for the older style cable and pulley steering. You pretty much have to be an engineering prodigy to grasp the concept and redesign it from scratch for a different boat. So it was out of the question for my little project, although I am a prodigy, just in bs.
I thought long and hard about the best way to do this. Several ideas went on paper to avoid spending the 100 bucks on the aftermarket bracket and kit.
In the end, I decided to buy the teleflex kit. Fortunately, none of the local boat shops had it. But I did call one smaller shop about 15 miles away and he said he didn't have one of the teleflex kits but he was pretty sure he had what I was looking for, just off of a used boat. 75 bucks is what he told me. I begrudgingly headed that way, not a fan that I was about to spend cash that I didn't want to turn loose of on something I knew I could figure out.
I made the trip, and finally found the place. Just for reference, I worked less than 2 miles down the road from this place for almost 2 years and never knew it existed. It's a home-based shop that just looks like someone's workshop from the road. Little sign out front about the size of a real estate sign.
After the fact, I'm glad I made the trip. He had one of his personal boats up there with the same engine I have, with a very similar steering setup, just on the opposite side. :mrgreen:
I got out for 80 bucks, which included the bracket, a new aluminum steering tube, and 3 foot of lined fuel line, and have more junk coming in this week :mrgreen:
I got to the house and started engineering.
I still had the 40hp mercury that came off the boat that is junk. I robbed the steering rod off of it.
I have another Johnson 33 that had been converted at some point and had a small steel bracket on it for the steering rod to connect to, so I robbed it as well and it fit perfectly.
After a little bit of trial and error, I decided to make a spacer to go in the splashwell. I made it out of a 2x4. I don't even know the exact measurement, it just looked about right. I covered it in fiberglass resin and then drilled and sealed the holes with rtv black silicone.
I used 3, 3" ss bolts with 1.5" fender washers on each, followed by a split ring washer and a ss nyloc nut.
That's about all I can think of, but definitely worth the cash to buy this bracket.
My boat is equipped with rack and pinion steering, similar to just about every other boat made in the past 30 years. A single cable setup that connects the motor and a steering arm that moves the motor. Pretty simple concept.
The motor that I ended up with is a 1970 Johnson 40hp that was set up for the older style cable and pulley steering. You pretty much have to be an engineering prodigy to grasp the concept and redesign it from scratch for a different boat. So it was out of the question for my little project, although I am a prodigy, just in bs.
I thought long and hard about the best way to do this. Several ideas went on paper to avoid spending the 100 bucks on the aftermarket bracket and kit.
In the end, I decided to buy the teleflex kit. Fortunately, none of the local boat shops had it. But I did call one smaller shop about 15 miles away and he said he didn't have one of the teleflex kits but he was pretty sure he had what I was looking for, just off of a used boat. 75 bucks is what he told me. I begrudgingly headed that way, not a fan that I was about to spend cash that I didn't want to turn loose of on something I knew I could figure out.
I made the trip, and finally found the place. Just for reference, I worked less than 2 miles down the road from this place for almost 2 years and never knew it existed. It's a home-based shop that just looks like someone's workshop from the road. Little sign out front about the size of a real estate sign.
After the fact, I'm glad I made the trip. He had one of his personal boats up there with the same engine I have, with a very similar steering setup, just on the opposite side. :mrgreen:
I got out for 80 bucks, which included the bracket, a new aluminum steering tube, and 3 foot of lined fuel line, and have more junk coming in this week :mrgreen:
I got to the house and started engineering.
I still had the 40hp mercury that came off the boat that is junk. I robbed the steering rod off of it.
I have another Johnson 33 that had been converted at some point and had a small steel bracket on it for the steering rod to connect to, so I robbed it as well and it fit perfectly.
After a little bit of trial and error, I decided to make a spacer to go in the splashwell. I made it out of a 2x4. I don't even know the exact measurement, it just looked about right. I covered it in fiberglass resin and then drilled and sealed the holes with rtv black silicone.
I used 3, 3" ss bolts with 1.5" fender washers on each, followed by a split ring washer and a ss nyloc nut.
That's about all I can think of, but definitely worth the cash to buy this bracket.
