Maybe a dumb question ?? but would it help to spray some lubricant on the exposed ends of the steering cables to make things work a little better?
Wife has a hard time turning the wheel.
The voice of experience here :)
The steering cables are going, and need to be replaced.
My boat was the same way, and then when I was going across the lake at wide-open throttle, the cable snapped and I had no steering. It was crazy scary! I ended up disconnecting the cables from the motor, put the motor in forward as slow as it could go, and sat in the stern and steered it like it was a tiller.
If it is an older boat, it is time for new cables!
I ignored mine, and just put up with it for a few months, and looking back, that was a very unwise decision…
If you have a steering wheel sometimes there is a adjustment screw to add more or less tension to the wheel not sure if you have one or not but that's one thing to check. I had a issue with my boats steering getting tighter and tighter. And I tried spraying the ends etc with oil and it didn't matter unfortunately ended up having to replace the rack and pinion and cable. But it can't hurt to lube the cables and rack and pinion, worm gear etc under the console cuz you never know.