Offshoreonly.com - Merc cooling without checkballs and custom hoses?

I am having a hell of a time retro fitting a couple sets of 496HO manifolds in my Pachanga. Still need spacers to raise the risers - damn collectors hitting the PS pump and t-stat housing... Anyway, the crazy stock cooling hoses and things aren't fitting worth a darn either. After some deliberation, I have decided to move forward with what i think will work fine after researching several other ways people have done this. I plan to split the intake water using a T fitting and go to the top of each exhaust manifold. (backward essentially) From the bottom of the manifold two lines will come to the front of the engine where another T will bring them together into a 2" or whatever size the waterpump intake is. That will then pump through the block and come out the t-stat housing - again just 2 lines which will go to each riser. I am running Alpa so I don't have a sump pump. Anyone done something similar to cleanup the mess and custom hoses? Input appreciated.

Dustin