Is it ok to start/run the engine with the drive off? I would assume so, but I would like to double check before doing it.

Thanks!

Certainly, you can run the engine with the drive off. You just need to come up with a way to supply the engine with water.
Eddie

ok. so as long as i can supply water right to the intake water hose im good? i have a bravo 1 so no drive pump. but i wanted to know for sure.

thanks

I actually have a tool that bolt onto the bell housing of the gimble. It bolt on over the water pickup hole and has a garden hose fitting on it so you can thread one right in.

I don't know about the intake,,,i would hook it up to the sea water pump !!!!

And don't rev it up ,,house water does not have enough pressure to go over 2500 RPM.

Use the raw water pump and put the intake hose into a big bucket of water, put a garden hose on full bore in the bicket but let the pump's suction draw the water from the bucket, that way the motor sucks up water as it needs and the garden hose makes sure the bucket stays full.
That's how I used to do it with my V-Drive race boat. Never used the garden hose direct to the pump or motor as flow levels and requirements change with engine RPM.
Let the pump pump!

I always remove the intake hose from the transom and shove the garden hose in to run engines with no drives. You can rev them high too because the garden hose won't suck down just shoved into the intake hose. It just sucks a little air. Works great, in fact I much prefer it to muffs which will suck the hose down.

If you use a bucket, no air problems either.