1980 15-footer: replacing steering wheel

[JBroat]

In the Summer of 2025 I became the proud owner of my first Boston Whaler boat, a 1980 15-foot hull. This 1980 15-foot hull definitely needs some love, so in Spring 2026 I am planning to start restoring what I can, bit by bit. How much I can bring this 1980 15-foot hull back to life is another topic, but while the wood gets pulled, sanded, and refinished, I want to replace the steering wheel with a stainless steel model.

Fig. 1. A 1980 Boston Whaler 15-footer

Screenshot 2026-02-04 at 10.09.jpg (46.89 KiB) Viewed 422 times

Q1: will a replacement stainless steel steering wheel just "go on" the boat?

Q2: will any additional hardware be needed to fit the new steering wheel?

Q3: can a rise be added to change the angle and position of the steering wheel?

It has been difficult to track down the actual part number [152-16-2-1] for the Schmitt option given here in:

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/OEM.html#SSwheel

Give me suggestions for a replacement stainless steering wheel.

I am happy to purchase a different brand from Amazon or other source.

To know what steering wheel is actually decent is difficult. Giving me a nudge in the right direction will be appreciated appreciated.

[JBroat]

UPDATE: I have found a steering wheelavailable locally, but with a different part number. This is what I seem to come up against..

https://www.westmarine.com/schmitt-mari ... 06306.html

[jimh]

The principal difference in the Schmidt steering wheel linked above and the typical OEM stainless steel DESTROYER model often seen on Boston Whaler boats is the number of spokes. Boston Whaler often used s six spoke model made by GRANT. The other different could be the diameter, and the tilt angle of the spokes, and whether the main outer tubing is circular or elliptical. Even many years ago, finding the GRANT wheel in six spokes with elliptical tubing was almost impossible, so the Schmidt wheels are a decent replacement. That you can get one for only $99 seems quite amazing, given the crazy price rise in everything "marine" that occurred following the Biden-Pandemic era of inflation.

To see the details of the steering system in Figure 1 is difficult due to the orientation of the camera and the limited amount of the steering system that can be seen, but most likely the steering is hydraulic. If the steering system is hydraulic, then the helm pump unit will typically have a tapered shaft that is more or less standard in the marine industry. Any new steering wheel designed for a tapered shaft will fit. A common problem is to remove the existing steering wheel from the tapered shaft after it has been attached for 46-years.

Advice is offered in a prior article and in links mentioned in that article. Read more at

Remove Steering Wheel
https://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4990

The tool used to pull off the wheel from the tapered shaft and seen in the linked article may be necessary.

As for changing the angle between the steering wheel axis of rotation and the console upper surface, the original orientation looks very good to me. On small open boats having the axis of the steering wheel rotation close to vertical is often considered the optimum orientation.