I recently looked at a boat with a standard B1 and stock steering. (no hydraulic) I grabbed the drive and tried to move it from side to side. Seemed like a lot of play. Moved about an inch at least before the steering wheel reacted and it moved very easy. I've been looking at other small boats and they tend to have Alphas. Not as much play in those drives. So I'm not sure if it's a Bravo thing or is something not right with the drive in question.

Try tightening the hinge pin on the top of the gimble ring. If that doesn't help then you might have a worn hinge pin or gimble ring.

If anybody has a pic of that they could post, that would be great. I'll try looking up some parts diagrams from Merc. If I end up wanting to pursue this boat, I want to make sure that it's just an adjustment and not a replacement issue. Thanks for the info!