99 Ski Nautique steering slop

The boat is a 99 closed bow ski nautique used exclusively on a slalom course. The steering is very loose feeling and it makes driving in a straight line through the slalom course very difficult. The steering wheel can literally rotate between 8:00 and 9:00 (30°) without actually engaging the rudder.

I've done a lot of looking where people say to check the rack and pinion along with the various things in the back of the boat. All good info... However, I went under the helm the other day and noticed that when the steering wheel moves in it's sloppy area, the end of the pinion shaft doesn't actually move.

This leads me to believe that there is some kind of connection, that is quite loose, between the steering wheel and the pinion shaft. Any ideas what that could be or how to fix it? My guess is it's part of the tilt system but I'm really not familiar with this system.

If there is a gear in the helm, I'm guessing that's most likely the root cause. I'll check the clamp block as well to ensure it's not loose.

Ok bare with me a bit... To remove the steering wheel, I'm assuming it's just the bolts on the steering wheel itself. To remove the rubber and plastic trim, is there just a large bolt in the middle? Do I need to use my steering wheel puller?

Clamp block is an easy check and I can't tell you exactly what it did to cause my symptoms because someone pointed me that direction first.

The steering wheel should have 1 nut in the middle, 3/4 or 7/8 I think. Once thats off there is a rubber boot and a plastic trim ring that is screwed down. What's left is the tilt, the helm comes in through the back of the dash. Keep the steering wheel handy to turn things so you have acces to the bolts to remove the helm. Needlenose pliers for the springs on the tilt. Long Allen wrenches should get it done and I think there are 3 big Phillips screws that hold the tilt to the dash. I removed the side plates on the tilt the first time, but it's not nessecary.