THIS MAY BE A STUPID QUESTION BUT I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE...I ALWAYS USED MY ANCHOR...

1) IDLE IN WITH DRIVE UP?

2) PULL IT IN BY HAND?

3) ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS...OR

4) DON'T BOTHER!

I don't know about your area, but around here Its just about impossible cause the beaches are too gradually graded so the drive is burried before the hull ever beaches.
My .02

If you really want to beach it, run wide open throttle and hang on!

I beach regularly. Of course, the key is to find a spot with a steep incline below. Some places around here are great. You could be beached and your transom is in 8 feet of water.

Take it slow! I usually idle in around 1000 rpms(maybe 3-4mph), cut the throttle about 10 feet out and let it gently glide up onto the beach. Make sure your trimmed up.

There's so many people I see throttle up like crazy and then literally get like half their boat onto the beach...try avoiding this.

I always laugh when they can't get it off afterwards!

You will damage your hull by beching.

I refuse to beach my boat... I'll anchor in waist deep water and wade to shore. I purchased my previous boat new and after a couple of years decided to beach one day next to a buddy... when I loaded it on the trailer I noticed big scratches in the gel coat from rocks and pebbles that were hidden underneath the sand I was on. Lesson learned... never again.

Our sand is a little softer...No problems here, but the hidden objects are a concern.

Just about everyone in my area beaches their boats. I used to beach all of mine, it does eventually make the bottom look bad, even though we have nice sand. When I bought the new Baja I decided to never beach it. It still has a few spots that are kind of dull looking it gets from the trailer bunks, but nothing like the boats that beach up all the time. We have nice sand bars, so I drop anchor in waste deep water and walk in!

I don't remember where, but I saw something in a catalogue made to stick to the hull, and protect it when beaching. It seemed like a good idea.