I picked up a 25hp Johnson outboard yesterday. It came with a control box and cables for the throttle and transmission, as well as a steering wheel and cable. Currently, there's really no place or room in the boat for a steering wheel so I'm trying to be creative. Right now I'm thinking I have two options:

1. Mount the steering wheel to the side of the boat and use it that way (instead of being mounted in front of the driver)

2. See if there's a box, similar to the one for the throttle and transmission, that controls the steering. Or perhaps a new box that has a lever for steering, throttle and transmission.

I had originally intended on getting a tiller steer motor, but this motor I picked up was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up. I'm trying to preserve space in this relatively small boat, so adding a console isn't really an option.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Converting that motor to tiller steering is going to be costly and time consuming. If you are dead set against a console and the motor was really that good a deal, make a few bucks by selling it and keep looking for something that suits your needs.

Im with bob, converting is about your only option to make it functional and it is cost prohibitive. I converted an electric start to pull start and that was bad enough as it was. I wouldn't recommend it. Sell it and find a tiller.

I'm not converting the motor. The motor was never a tiller. I was originally going to get a tiller but opted for the motor with steering. So, my question remains: how best to add steering to a Jon boat that does not have a console.

the cheapest way would be to mount the controls to the right side bulkhead and build a little side console to mount the steering wheel. all you really have to have is a dash big enough to mount the steering helm and a brace on one side of it, the bulkhead will be the brace on the other side.

I saw one of those aluminum side-mounted consoles. Basically they're just a shelf. It's not a bad idea. Initially, I think we're going to try and mount the steering wheel sideways (with a suicide knob) below the throttle/transmission control box...but the side-mount is tempting.