Mark wrote:
A question:

Is it easiest/best to get on plane from a level attitude, or "nose up"?

Fiberglass, with steps/strakes. Bow rider.

Thanks,
Mark

The natural tendency for an accelerating boat will be to go "nose up"
just before getting up on plane. That's the portion of the power curve
where you have exceeded displacement speed and as a result your hull is
attempting to climb the bow wave. When you get free of the bow wave,
you will be in the initial stages of "plane".

If you use enough trib tab to keep the bow down between displacement
and planing speeds, it might take you slightly longer to get up on
plane due to the additional drag.
Probably no big deal either way and no absolutely "right" appraoch-
just a matter of personal preference and maybe a matter of how severe
the bow rise is during acceleration.
If your bow gets so high that you cannot keep a safe watch direclty
ahead, it would make sense to trum the bow down during acceleration so
you don't run into some drift or another boat.