Spun propeller? Repair or replace?

Following advice from this forum regarding sudden loss of power on my 1996 Force 120, I took off the prop, and it indeed looks like something is wrong (see photo). Being inexperienced at this, I don't know what the hub is supposed to look like, but I don't think it's supposed to look like it does, with the inner and outer components misaligned, and a few metal shavings lying in between. So, should I just replace the whole prop? They don't seem very expensive.

Re: Spun propeller? Repair or replace?

You stae you experienced a sudden loss of power, but a spun prop does not cause that condition. If you meant to say that you experienced a sudden loss of spead while your motor was revving/over-revving, then it is very likely the prop. The best way to know for sure is to place a line with a marker all of the way from the center of the prop out to the edge. Run the prop for a minute or less and see if the black line is still lined up. If it's not then it is indeed slipping and requires repair/replacement.
While you are at it please make sure your prop was the correct size for your boat by making sure it was able to reach the mfg's suggested rpm's at wide open throttle(WOT). If it's not then make sure you adjust the pitch for the new prop by allowing 1 inch of pitch change for every 200 rpm's of change. So if you're 400 rpm's under the max rpm then you need to remove 2 inches of pitch.

Re: Spun propeller? Repair or replace?

rndn,

That is what I mean, the engine starts turning rapidly while power is lost to the prop. I just didn't want to repeat my earlier post. I can't test the prop at WOT because I can't even get it up on plane at this point, and my tach has not worked since I bought the boat a couple of months ago. However, I suspect this boat and motor combo could use a prop with more pitch.