How to Remove the Steering Cable on a Boat

Remove the cable steering before you add hydraulic steering.

Whether you're replacing your cable steering with hydraulic steering or simply returning to the tiller on a small outboard motor, you can remove the steering cable from your boat yourself. Removing the cable from its mounts may require that you get into some odd positions as you remove the cable from its mounting brackets behind and underneath panels alongside and under the rails of your boat, but those contortions are the only twists in the job.

Things You'll Need

• Box end wrench
• Moisture-excluding penetrating lubricant
• Screwdriver

Instructions

1. Use a box end wrench to remove the bolt and nut from the output arm of the helm (the "box" behind the dashboard that the steering wheel shaft goes into).

2. Spray a moisture-excluding penetrating lubricant onto the sizable nut on the starboard (right) side of the motor, which the steering cable is attached to. Attach the thin, drinking straw-like attachment to the lubricant's spray nozzle and (liberally) spray lubricant into the motor's tilt tube.

3. Remove the nut on the right side of the motor that holds the cable and pull the steering cable out through the tilt tube.

4. Use a screwdriver to unscrew the screws holding the mounting brackets that hold the cable sheath along the side of the vessel. As you remove a mounting bracket, lift the cable from the bracket and return the mounting bracket to its original position, screwing it back into place.

5. Remove the steering cable from the boat once it has been released from all the mounting brackets.

Tips & Warnings

• Leave the cable attached to the boat until you've released the ends of the cable from the tilt tube and the helm, to keep the cable steady while you're releasing it.

• If you're simply replacing the cable, you can use duct tape to tape the end of the new cable to the old -- tape them end-to-end -- then pull the old cable through the mounting brackets, dragging the new cable with it. This keeps you from having to unscrew and remount all the mounting brackets, and it guarantees that the cable will follow a safe path between the tilt tube and the helm.