US Patent 7540253 Boat steering system

A boat steering system provides an operator with excellent efficiency and an excellent operation feel during direction guide member deflection by considering and making adjustments based on a running status of the boat. An ECU controls a direction guide member deflection angle limit. The ECU includes and/or communicates with detectors and the like for detecting one or more of an operation status corresponding to a steering wheel operation, a running status of the boat, recognizing a status of an outboard motor, and detecting a status of an electric motor that rotates an outboard motor. The ECU also controls a direction guide member deflection angle limit based on one or more of the detection values.