The end of the rod at the OB, up under the motor where it can hardly be seen, is a 3/8 inch rod end, sometimes called ball end. To move the attachment point for the steering back closer to the pivot point, I attached a 3/16 inch thick plate to the front underside of the OB. The plate attaches to the OB via the front factory mounting holes and I drilled one hole in the casting for a 1/4 inch bolt that holds the back of the plate secure to the OB. There is also a 3/8 inch bolt through the plate that attaches the rod end of steering rod to the OB.

Here is a composite shot of the right and left side of the OB. The plate is SOOO close to the hood latch, that I actually had to turn the handle on the latch 180 degrees to make this work.

And this all BARELY clears when the OB is tilted up. The steering rod actually turns in the rod and and 'folds' itself further back under the motor. Thats also why the plate is full width on the left side and cut away on the right side to provide the clearance needed to tilt the motor up.

This is also whay I am looking to redesign this.