Starting with no water

[Charlie]

Hi all,
I have a 1979 Am Skier with the 255HP Commander motor.  Im just pulling it out for the first run this year.
I just drained my motor completely of the RV antifreeze via all drain plugs and removed/dumped all hoses. I briefly started it dry very quickly to verify no water coming out the exhaust.  Now its drying out for a trip at the end of the month. Here in So Cal, we have to have our boats inspected prior to launching for Quaggi/Zebre Muscles.  This inspection is a zero water inspection meaning they can find absolutely no water anywhere in the boat or engine.

My question is, with no water in the block, will the fresh water pump be able to pump enough water into the motor fast enough, with thermostat installed, that it doesn’t immediately over heat after starting?
Only alternative I can see is after inspection to disconnect the fresh water hose from the pump/block and try to fill it manually with a few gallons before starting or start and stop it briefly several time until I think enough water has entered the block.
Last year I failed and had to get a "hot wash" before being allowed to launch. The lake im going to does not do "hot washes" so it needs to be dry.

Thoughts?

[backfoot100]

Your raw water pump is self priming so no worry there.

If it's the first time out and you've removed/replaced hoses, I would be more concerned that there is a small air leak in the hose connections on the suction side of the RWP. If you have the smallest of leaks it won't pull any water at all and with a completely dry engine, that would certainly be an issue pretty quickly.