Aint that the truth!
With my Dad's old '57 18 Fastwin, in normal operation we ran the motor out of "Lock" in case we hit something the motor could lift up, and when we put it in reverse, you put one hand on the front of the motor to keep it down in the water. It became a normal reaction.
But when it was time to "Pull the rope" - you had better have it in lock! One hand on the motor and one hand on the rope handle would usually not get 'er done!
Here is a video of a 1958 Evinrude Fastwin 18 that looks just like Dad's motor (That my Brother still has).
It's a nice, pleasant video, and quite informative. A great deal for the recent buyer, IMHO.
Those motors really look ahead of their time to me...
YouTube