Starter Issues

My starter has been acting up recently. I always do a quick dry start in the driveway to make sure all is well before heading to the creak and a few weeks ago the starter the motor would just spin when I turned the key. After a few attempts the solenoid engaged the drive pinion and the boat started, BUT the drive pinion did not fully disengage so it was clanking on the flywheel. I took the starter apart and found that the drive lever popped off the armature clutch on one side, which explained why it did not fully disengage. I popped the lever back on and it seamed good to go. On the next trip to the creek after 5 or 6 six starts later it did the same thing. I was able to fix it on the water, but any idea why this is happening? I have attached a photo in the event my terminology is inaccurate. The boat is an 83 SN and the starter is maybe 2 years old.

The holes in the lever seam to sit on the pinion ears snugly, but the leaver is a little loose maybe where it attaches in the solenoid. The reason I am not just buying a new starter is that it's maybe 2 years old and it's the correct marine starter for my boat purchased from Skidim... The motor and solenoid seam to be working fine so I'm reluctant to buy another new starter without going through this process...