2003 196 Steering Cable Replacement

I did mine ('05 206) and it was a bit of a pain.   I cannot recall if the 196 has the trunk but if so you will need to clear / remove the contents and floor in order to gain access to rudder and cable mount. For me the mount was halfway under the fuel tank and had to be accessed from both the trunk side and from within the boat. This was the single most problematic part of the installation -

Good Luck

The ram is the part that moves the rudder.

That portion of it is not flexible at all, so it's a little trickier to maneuver that part of it.

Going out through the front vs. the back, your two options are to:
A.) pull the whole cable out and feed the new back in from the stern/rudder side
or
B.) pull the whole cable out and feed the new back in from the helm/front side.

The front portion has the rack assembly, and that is even bulkier than the ran, so you really don't want to have to have to feed that through the belly of the boat. So, you want to do it from the front so that you are feeding the ram side of the cable through.

You usually use rope or cable to follow out the old cable as you pull it out, so you have a way to pull the new back in. When you're feeding it back in try to make the knot/connection with your rope as streamlined as possible. You can use some duct tape or similar to help smooth this. You don't want the knot getting snagged on a anything on the way through. Definitely have the motorbox out of the boat, because you want to be able to easily reach to feed it through the bilge. This is also where your helper comes in. One person can be tugging or pushing, while the other person kind of helps with snags and obstructions.

Have done an ‘09 196 (no ballast) and access to the rudder end is clear through trunk floor. No need to touch the tank.

The rack cable goes in/out from the front, it’s no fun getting the ram through the conduit. Especially with the engine shoehorned into the bilge. Much bigger pita than the older rotary cables.

Thanks for the info! This is helpful.

My 03 196 has the gas tank under the rear seat and a ballast in the far rear of the boat. Any info on how to get to the rudder connection without removing the gas tank?

The steering on my 03 196 has gotten really bad. I am planning to replace the steering cable but have had a hard time finding directions on how to do so for this model boat. 

​​​​​​​My current understanding is that the rudder side of the old one is detached, then the steering side is detached, the rudder side gets a rope tied to it and pulled through to the front, then the new one is attached to the rope and pulled through and then hooked up on both sides. I am wondering what all needs to be taken apart as far as the boat is concerned for this project. Also just general directions on the steps of how to complete this project. 

I would really appreciate any directions, tips, etc.! Especially if there are any peculiarities with this model 196 in particular. Thank you!