I always believed there needed to be a zerk in the steering cable so you can lube the cable and not keep replacing them every time a little water gets in there. Then searching for something else I came upon an attachment that does just that with simple installation. I drilled and tapped my cable to make it live again. From completely frozen to lubed, with some working of the cable back and forth, the steering completely freed up. No need to spend more money on something that just needed a little grease.
What I am saying is if my boat didn't have a zerk at the steering cable I would install one from day one if possible or retrofit asap. Your call as all cables fail from lack of lube sooner or later. Of course buying a new boat every couple of years or not using it takes care of that problem.
http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/list_marine.asp?grp=m18-1