console steer upgrade possible?

[arkansasnative]

Alright guys here we go... last sunday my fiance's grandpa gave me his old Fisher Marine boat for free because he heard that i like to mess around with boats (first time this hobby has EVER saved me money!). The boat is rated up to a 25hp but right now it has an old merc 110 (9.8hp) in prestine condition sitting on the back right now. He told me he's not sure if it would run without some work but i definitely want to upgrade it even if it is down the road. My question is if i upgraded to a 25hp Merc (older merc) would i have to buy all new steering components or could i use the originals? Could these convert over to any other brands of motor? And can you convert any tiller motor over to console steering? I don't see many non-tillers for sale in my area. Thanks for your input!

- PS stay tuned for pics later... i have some from my cell phone but i go to pick up the boat saturday so i'll start a mod thread then!

 

[JMichael]

Having just converted my Fisher Marine from console steer to tiller steer, I'll chime in with what I discovered with mine. It seems that most motors can be converted from one to the other but it does require certain parts. The older the motor is, the harder it is to find these parts. It looks like most manufacturers provide "kits" that include the hardware needed to convert from tiller to remote. But again, if your motor is an older one, you may find it difficult to find one of the kits. That doesn't mean you can't convert it by locating the pieces needed from ebay or other sources though.

 

[arkansasnative]

Thanks mike! Actually this boat is similar to yours... it is setup bass boat style with a larger front deck and a bench seat behind the console. More opinions are welcome!

 

[JMichael]

Looking forward to seeing some pics of it.