Prop replacement on 1997 28TE with Beast

[JimCoughlin]

I have a 97 28TE engine box with the Beast. Need to replace 3 blade prop. WOT is 3650 RPM. Boat cruises at 17mph. Any suggestions to improve performance? Should I stay with the 3 blade prop?

[DougA]

I have a 96 28TE with a 2014 GM 6.5 (son of Beast) with 3 blade. I cruise 17-19 knots at 2800-3000 rpm depending on load and conditions. Your numbers sound similar to mine and similar to other 28TE owners posting.

[JimCoughlin]

Thanks. I will most likely replace with 3 blade unless someone convinced me of a better option.

[Larry cessna]

I have the beats and cruise at 18 knots at 2800 rpms wot is only 3100 but hits 21 knots. should i change my prop??

[DougA]

Recently, in our 1996 28TE with original 3-bladed prop, we were running back to port at about 16 knots in a very choppy washing-machine sea. The boat was lightly loaded and I was trying to find a comfortable speed over the chop. Unexpectedly, engine rpms increased rapidly as though the prop had fallen off. I lowered the throttle but still no feeling of propeller bite. . I shut down the throttle into neutral, waited a bit, then applied throttle to about 1000 rpm. Thankfully we had propeller bite, and we proceeded the 10 miles to Noyo Harbor successfully at about about 1500 rpm.

I'm sharing this incident to see if other 28TE owners have had similar experiences, and what they think was the cause. I am guessing it was the transmission slipping (I have not changed fluid and filter since 2017), or, was cavitation of the 3-blade prop in the choppy sea. Does anyone know why Albin changed the prop to 4-blade in the newer boats? Experiences and opinions welcome!

[dkirsop]

Other possible things to consider include:
- loose shaft coupling at the transmission connection (is it a compression only fit or does it have a shaft key)
- shaft key missing or sheered at the propeller end
- low oil level in the transmission