Hi Bill, Re: the Forespar tiller holder. I haven't had a problem with the locking mechanism - and my unit came with the boat when I bought it, so I haven't a clue as to it's age. If it is used in salt water, and not rinsed off after getting doused, then I could imagine that salt crystals from evaporating seawater might cause a problem. Ergo, it works, and I use it almost every time I go sailing. It is also used to lock the tiller in place when I leave LEPPO at the marina between sails. With all the outboards, and PWC charging about on weekends, I don't want the rudder banging back and forth. So, it is locked in place with the Forespar tiller holder. On my original tiller, I had the Forespar tiller fitting about 6" back from the end of the tiller. But when I got a new tiller from Bob Eeg, the "new and improved" was about 6" shorter than the old one. Since the receiver box was installed in the cockpit wall, all I could do was to put the Forespar fitting about one inch back from the end of the tiller so that the geometery remained the same. I carefully countersunk the fitting into the tiller so that when sailing you don't even feel it. If you just fasten it to the tiller surface, that would then be annoying (to me at least). Connie