At risk of restarting the Great Steering Debate, let me begin by saying there is nothing wrong with a cable/pulley system if set up correctly You would be amazed at how many boats left the factory with improperly rigged cable/pulley steering.

Personally, for your 28hp motor, I would much prefer cable/pulley steering over the newer push-pull system which became industry standard in later years. It is impossible to make the push-pull system work properly on that older motor.

Both cables down same side of the boat is not an issue. Nor is helm on the left.

Improperly located pulleys are a huge issue. I’ll bet that is true in your sloppy steering case.

The type of cable drum behind the steering wheel also makes a difference. The type with a spiral groove for the cable is best. but the plain drum is ok, just not as smooth.

How about posting some pictures of your setup? A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.

EDIT: Thanks for the pictures you posted while I was typing. Exactly what I said, it is a terrible setup.

Meier71@yahoo.com wrote:

The flywheel just seized up while I was running it,

The first thing to do is find out where it is seized.  I’ve seen broken bearings and/or rust in the gearcase seize everything.  I’ve seen broken vanes on the water pump impeller jam it up at the pump.  The recoil starter could be falling apart and jamming the flywheel.  It , of course, could be rings, and or a broken bearing.   I’ve seen too many people start treating a motor for stuck pistons/rings right away when the problem was elsewhere.  Easiest thing to take off first is the recoil starter.  If that isn’t it, and it probably isn’t since it seized while running, take the gearcase off – the water pump and driveshaft will come with it.  Then see if it’s still seized.  Note that if your throttle is set too high, the recoil starter gets locked up so you can’t rope start it in gear with the throttle up high. There is also an electrical lockout that prevents electric start if the throttle is up too high.