New member on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington

[WillB]

My name is Will and I've been building a Squirt in my shop for the last year or so. Last week I finally took the hull off of the building form and flipped it onto the trailer that I restored using a 40 year old rusty Caulkin boat trailer. I'm now working on all the topside framing and I can see I need some advice on how to set up steering and controlling the outboard. I am looking forward to some good back and forth on the forum.

[Hercdrvr]

The hull looks great. Squirt is a great little boat.
Matt B

[Bluesman]

Welcome.... Looks good!

[kens]

That is really nice. Where has this build been hiding ?

[vupilot]

Really nice Squirt and shop!

What specifically do you want to know about steering and controls? Do you have a motor yet?

[JimmY]

Nice paint job, I bet you found Art's blog. Nice way to cover the joints in the plywood and cover the screw heads.

I used a teleflex rack and pinion system either a 12' or 14' cable. You have to loop the cable under the foredeck because going from the rack to the side is too tight. The cable comes up through the deck between frame 1 and the transom. Th exit point is dressed up with a clamshell cover. Use a garden hose to plan the route of the cable. Check out my Michigan Squirt build for photos or I can post a few here.

[WillB]

You're right about stealing Art's paint scheme and its ability to hide that scarf joint. I gained a real appreciation of his taping and painting skills as I worked through a whole roll of masking tape trying to get those curves just right.

I am planning to use a Teleflex steering and you have answered my question about the length of cable to get. I like your idea of using a garden hose to plan the route of the cable and I was wondering where to put the loop in the cable. I hadn't thought about putting it under the foredeck.

I also have to get a steering wheel. Is there anything I should look for when ordering the wheel to make sure it is compatible with the Teleflex unit?

I think I have lined up a 1969 Mercury 200, 20 hp outboard for the boat. With any luck I will be able to pick it up tomorrow. Any comments on that choice?

[Jimbob]

You will need an adapter that the steering wheel bolts onto. Ask for a marine adapter with a tapered fitting. Order the adapter from whoever you get your steering wheel from. I got mine from Forever Sharp Steering Wheels.
Jim

[JimmY]

Hi Will,

I double checked, and I used the 14' length cable, and here is photo of my installation. You can see if you try to run the cable from the rack to the side and under the carling, the bend radius will be too tight. So you make a large loop away from the side and forward, under the deck. A few cable ties screwed to the frames hold it in place.

The exit location that I used:

The teleflex units have a "Standard 3/4" round tapered steering shaft", so just make sure your steering wheel has the matching taper.

The Mercury sounds like a good fit for the Squirt. I've got an 18hp Johnson, and it pushes me alone at 25mph, and two adults at 21mph. The 20hp should give you a little more. Getting it now will help you size the transom for the shaft length. They talk about long and short shafts, but I don't think there is a real standard among the outboard manufacturers. So once you get the motor, you can see if you have to add any to the top of your transom to get the cavitation plate even with/just below the bottom of your hull.

[JimmY]

P.S. If you can wait for the steering system to come in before you mount your dashboard, it will help to have it to set the angle. I installed my dash first and ended up adding a wedge to tilt my steering wheel up to a more comfortable position.

[BillW]

You will find a large selection of marine steering wheels at www.cpperformance.com
They have a large price range, from inexpensive, on up.

That's a very nice Squirt. We also have a Squirt, over on the Seattle side.

[WillB]

I was able to get a pretty nice 1969 Mercury 200 20 HP outboard for the Squirt that seems to be in pretty good shape for being 53 years old. Now I need some advice on how to add remote controls to it. I bought a new 14' Teleflex rotary steering system and have to figure how to attach that to the motor and also have to figure out how to control the throttle and gear shift. Any help with those projects would be greatly appreciated.

[Roberta]

Does your motor have a tiller handle and manual shift lever on it now? There have been kits available to convert tillers to remote control. You will need to get a parts manual and repair manual in order to find part numbers and information about converting it. Then it becomes a search for kits or individual parts. The alternative is to create your own system.

I jury rigged remote steering and throttle control on a merc 100 for a Super Spartan. The shift was left manual because it was easy to reach and the throttle was hooked up to a deadman. Steering was typical hydroplane cable steering.

If your motor was originally set up for remote control. Your steering system should be able to be hooked up via the tilt tube and steering link. You can look for throttle/shift controls on places like Ebay and internet search.

Getting the maintenance manual for your motor will help you whatever you have and decide to do.

Roberta

[BillW]

Your Teleflex (name change to Seastar) cable that you have will fit thru, and thread on to, the motor's tilt tube.
Previous to about '65 they did not fit, and required a different set up.

So, to complete the connection at the motor you will need a link arm. That may include hardware to attach
the link arm at motor. Or be separate purchase.

For throttle and shift, you need a control box, and cables. The most common box (sometimes known as a "square control box")
was made about '65-ish to around 2000-ish, and will be cheapest. You may, or may not, have to purchase cables separately.

The source that I have used often, and I would suggest is www.fergusonpoolemarine.com
They have a lot more stuff than shown on their site. So, just e-mail or phone him.
The man's name is Joe Poole and he will answer all your questions and explain it all to you.
He is probably the most knowledgeable vintage Mercury guy. He is located in Georgia.

Oop's I just noticed Roberta's post. And yes, if it's a tiller motor, then a bit of complication. Talk to Joe about that.

Hope this helps,
Bill

[Roberta]

This is a typical tilt tube steering setup where the steering push/pull cable is attached to the motor through the tilt tube. The cable connects to the motor steering tab via a link. Also a picture of a typical 1969 controller.

Roberta