Methods and systems for determining position of one or more portions of a seismic streamer, which portions may be seismic receivers, are disclosed. One method includes measuring one or more characteristics of one or more steering devices positioned at known distances along a marine seismic streamer; using the measured characteristic to calculate a force on at least a portion of the streamer exerted by one or more steering devices from the characteristics; and using the calculated force to estimate position of at least a portion of the streamer. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract, which will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.