Power when tilted?

I have never used a sterndrive. Can small amounts of power be applied even if the drive is tilted up? For example if you were beaching and needed to tilt up so the drive was clear of the bottom. Can you still be in gear and applying some power for steering and motion?

 

Usually the last 20 ft (I presume you will be travelling slowly), the gears are disengaged whilst raising the legs, and slowly drift ashore to gently nudge the beach, let off the infirm, and very young along with the "esky's" and beer, - - and get a shove out to set the anchor so you are able to move when it is low tide ???

 

It will hurt your u-joints if you have the engine running and tilt the drive up too far.
With an alpha you'll also suck up sand and stuff and chew up the impeller.

 

There is a tilt limiter, that when properly adjusted won't let you go beyond the safe angle for the u-joints. That is assuming you have one of the more modern drives. The really old ones should only be run in the down position.

 

You should never beach your boat so bad that your engines cant be down. Come in with no power, with drives down. If you see boat dragging on floor, you can raise drives and push it by hand or with the help of a stern anchor. In other words it can act as your warning and plan B. Of course we are talking in sand. I always push boat back by hand anyway, to prevent sand being ingested into engine.

 

If this is a Mercruiser you can shortly apply some power as long as the drive is between the two jaws that guide it. As long as the drive is in the trimming range (up/ down button only) there are no restrictions, but if you use the tilt function (2 buttons simultaneously) proceed very carefully.

 

Thanks for the replies. I am still playing with hull concepts for a boat I am designing. I like the fact that a sterndrive tilts up so when under sail there is little or no drag, depending how far up it goes. Another point is keeping draft to a minimum, hence the question about running it tilted up. Looks like it is not a good idea to run when tilted up too far but so far the sterndrive seems to be the best solution for my needs.

This is the drive i am interested in. http://www.marinepowerservice.com/BoatingStore/browse_detail3.cfm/productID/23958.cfm

 

Pay attention to the geometry of stern drives. There is some lenience concerning the mounting hole, but when trimmed down the anti cavitation plate must be inline with the hull bottom. That means on larger boats the drive never clears the water surface when tilted up. Under sail it may even cause more drag.

 

"Must be inline with the hull bottom" isn't totally written in stone. That's the recommended for all around boats. The anticav plate can be a tiny bit higher on fast boats.