yea tried with tabs all the way down...I wouldn't say we put the throttles on the wall but slowly build to 3/4 throttle...as it bites slowly back off.

My guess the slower you go on plane the longer your dives will last?

OK - Lots of good replies, and lots of different situations and setups. In my case, I get almost zero prop slip coming on plane (DuoProps) and, given that the engines simply don't make a lot of torque at those low rpms (2500-3000), I guess that can get away with WOT.

I would think that by far the worst thing that would happen would be leaving the water, allowing the engine to rev up to the limiter, and then landing with the throttle still wide open. At that point, you ARE dealing with the engine being at peak power, and the prop being hooked up.

I guess my question is more like: Why would the drive care how fast it is going? All it should care about is the force (torque) being applied to it, and therefore the force that it is applying to the water.

The best point raised so far is: Why do we have to put up with drivetrains that WON'T handle WOT? We'd freak if this was the case in our cars.

I had a bravo 3 on my stingray with a 310 hp 454, i managed to twist the propshaft pretty bad on that be careful with any power you have

"like"

I have mentioned this in other threads also. I also don't understand the "myth" on how getting on plane slow and easy is less harsh on the drives?

How does X amount of torque applied through the drives for XXXXX amount of time worse then the same amount of torque applied through the drives for less then half the amount of time??

There are a TON of boaters on this site that BABY their drives getting on plane and STILL blow drives. Have any of us tried the opposite and see if they break?

And when our drives break it NEVER happens while getting on plane anyways

Not saying that slamming it in gear and mashing the throttles instantly is good.

Just move them forward smoothly, but not to slow not to fast, then back off when the RPMs start increasing.

You can move them forward smoothy and slow and just sit there halfway on plane for 10 min also, might as well just put the forward a little more and a little faster and just get up and be done with it.

Biggest problem is ALL of our info are just guesses. We really have no clue and no way to actually test which way is the best.

how many pounds is applied to the scale when you jump on it? now step on it slow and easy. same 200lb guy can have quite a difference in load applied. And the load is quite different, applying full throttle while under full load is easily the most torture a drive could be put through. Less throttle = less torque. Less torque and less load "should" extend the drive's life

but how much torque does the engine make at what RPM? The engine can be at full throttle but not be appling maximum torque

and again, how does X amount of Torque applied for 30 seconds better then X amount of Torque applied for only 15 seconds?

As far as torque over time that's a good question, bet some interesting theories come out of that one!
At full throttle the engine will be at its torque potential for a given rpm, back the sticks off a bit and the same rpm ( up to a point) can be achieved without making as much torque. Or at least this dumbass thinks that way lol

My opinion is drive it anyway you want if you can afford to fix it.