I just bought a 29 baja outlaw. On its maiden voyage, a power steering pump springs a leak, and starts whining. my power steering still works fine so i call a mechanic and he says one of them doesnt do anything?

so i put a new belt on bypassing the pump.

1. is that bad?

2. why would they put on an extra pump to do nothing?

merc ships all motors with power steering pumps since they don't know if it will be for a boat with single or twins. It only takes one pump to work the steering, so when the factory installs them they will rig the system off of one pump and usually just take the belt off the other (non serpentine setups).

It's good to leave it on there in case your working pump takes a dump. you have a spare that you can swap to the other side.

Fountain uses both pumps. This way we will always have power steering, regardless of which motor is running. Don't know why all builders do not do this.

It's a cost that some builders don't want to eat, so it's offered as an option. There's a shuttle valve in the system to shut off the fluid from the non-functioning pump/lines.
I'll agree that it's a great option to have.

Ever come home on one engine with a twin engine set-up ???? Its always a better idea to have both pumps working all the time, especially if your trying to dock on one engine that does not have the power steering.