Will , I moved mine to the center, it works just fine. ( that is the short story)
I did take it apart to check for wear, cause my fixer / upper pontoon boat was made in 1979.
( it is not very complicated, IMO, )
( I cleaned everything completely then put it back together with new marine grease)
I used the old mounting holes as a pattern when I built my new (operator console) which included repositioning and rerouting the engine controls too.
I gained about 1 foot forward by moving to the center and rerouting the steering cable and etc. ( I took it all out and sat on a bucket and held the steering wheel and "teleflex" box and got a feel of where I could reposition the steering to) ( how high, and how far forward with it still going back together and working) ( then I fashioned a " dashboard that would accomodate the steering and engine controls,,, then I sat on my bucket and tried it again)
I rerouted all the electrical between the dash board and the engine compartment through a 2" pvc pipe,, Oh yea,,,,, Mine is a stern drive, so that may make a little difference if yours is an outboard, but you can still put the PVC pipe from your operator console to the engine area to run all wiring through,,, and seal around the pipe to keep water out.
( i will post 1 pic here ,,, there are other pics on another post of mine)
BTW I have had it on the water a couple of times now and every thing is working perfect
P.S. I am not much of a perfectionist when it comes to spit and polish,,, but I got this boat for my use and satisfaction, so far I have accomplished my goals. ( specifically I am after catfish not a cathouse, I use my boat for what I want and adapt it when I need to. That is why I don't have any furniture on it.)
