Quinte Fishing

I am getting the boat ready and just put on my late '80's Evinrude 9.9 kicker motor. In the past years when I have it tilted up and hitting the waves while travelling, it often pops off tilt and drops down.
There is a spring system under the handle to hold the lever down. I am thinking I may have a spring missing in there that keeps pressure on the lever when the motor is tilted up. I rigged up a bungee cord last year to hold the lever in place but I am wondering if there is a better way to keep it from popping off.
Any ideas?

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HUNT, FISH and RIDE

Can you replace bungie cord with a small spring instead?

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FishinMagician }-)))">