A steering system for a small boat can include an outboard motor mounted to a hull, a steering wheel operated by a boat operator for steering the boat, a steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of the steering wheel, a steering device for moving the outboard motor relative to the hull in response to the steering angle of the steering wheel, and a controller for determining a target steering angle to be achieved by the steering device using the steering angle and steering characteristics. The steering characteristics are determined in response to running conditions.