I don't have a question --- this is just an "in case you're interested" posting... I have a 1984 25.5 that came into our family this past September. The (I assume) original rope clutch located on the starboard side of the cabin top (used for main and jib halyards) was difficult to operate for one of my crew (my 6-year old son). I decided to replace it when one of the handles snapped off in my hand. I ordered a Spinlock clutch and proceeded to try to remove the old one. One of the machine screws holding the old one on was damaged so that I could not get a good hold in it with any of my screwdrivers. So, I tried to use damaged screw extractors. Nothing I found (including cobalt and titanium drill bits) would bite the screw head, so I was unable to use the extractors. The screws are flush, so I couldn't get a pair of vice grips on the screw head. I decided that my best option was to cut off parts of the old rope clutch so that I could get to the screw head. A Dremel and some cutting discs removed enough of the old clutch so that I could get to the screw head and remove it. The new rope clutch's mounting holes did not line up with the old ones. I was a little concerned that the aluminum backing plate didn't extend much beyond the orginal holes, but when I drilled pilot holes for the new clutch, I found plenty of backing plate to work with. I drilled and tapped four new mounting holes and sealed the old ones. The old ones are completely concealed under the new rope clutch, so it looks clean. Best of all, my son can easily operate the new rope clutch! So, there were two main questions that I had as I went through the project that I wanted to share: 1. A Dremel with a cutting disc can cut away enough of the original rope clutch to allow a pair of vice grips to get to a damaged screw head if needed. 2. The aluminum backing plate under the original rope clutch extends beyond the original mounting holes enough to allow new mounting holes to be drilled and tapped. I placed the new mounting holes approx. 1/2 inch to port of the originals. This info may be common sense to more experienced sailors, but I wanted to share what I learned.