Second time out water pump went and we melted a lot of stuff on the 35 HP.  So with that said, we are entertaining the thought of getting a 50 HP Mercury.  The question is, the steering mechanism, is that something that is interchangable on all engines, or do you have to buy new stuff.  The engine comes complete with the trim controls and the other controls but we are not sure of the steering mechanism.  Is it a plug and play or not?  Thanks

Make sure to clean and re-grease the steering cable where it attaches to the new motor.

Welcome to the forums fishing-santa. Got a great bunch of people here and we're glad to have you join us. Be sure to post some pics of your boat(s) in the 'Show Off Your Pontoon' section (or rebuild depending if you have before/after pics), as we'd love to see them. Also tell us your story in How did you come to join the forums? (just click on the red link and tell us all about it ). You probably did like a lot of us have. Looking for pontoon accessories and either found it through www.PontoonStuff.com ebay site or web store. Jim (administrator) and Andrea (pontoongirl) Myers (our hosts) have excellent staff members to help them help you find whatever it is you're looking for your boat and has excellent shipping and customer service. Have fun and happy boating. Be sure to edit your signature line to include details of your boat and motor so folks won't have to ask for it if questions arise later. Also visit our other sections like Where are you? so others will know what part of the country you're from. If you need any help editing your uploading your photo's, check out our primer here How To Upload Your Pontoon Boats Image, If you need help resizing them check out Software that helps you with pics & such. Be sure to review the posting rules and policies of the forum. If you have any issues with seeing photo's this link will explain it Issue regarding seeing photo’s on site. Please read all the posting rules. Some forums have additional specific rules for that category.

I would put on a 14 X 11 inch Black Max Aluminum Merc. prop. (Part number 899012A45) Should get you real close to the recommended 6000 RPM's.. 

You would be much better off getting the top RPM's close to the 5800-6000 mark and even with the 11 inch pitch prop, you may still be below that. Otherwise the engine will be lugging and working much harder than necessary. Cedar Creek is a great lake. Spent many days boating there when my kids lived in Corsicana some years back. Here's the link to your UTube videos for others to see..

Fishing-Santas videos