I would like to see some pics of the setups

I do not have pictures. But you will need a 1.25" three way ball valve. Not an on and off but a three way valve. McMaster Carr sell them. Hardware stores will not have that. You may have to bypass the sea strainer for the high water pickup. Not a big deal. Just grab the line before the sea pump somewhere and tee it.

Don't Trim Up It Sticks Nosecone Into The Bottom

How bout drilling and tapping the Y pipe outlet for the fitting? I waterjetted out fairly thick stainless steel plates , so they could handle the tapped hole easily , and no worries of adding more holes in the fiberglass. It would also be a little higher than just on the bottom .

schnydo,I do believe you are correct. The prop just sucks the sand in. I did the thru transom pickup and I love it. The only way I get sand is if the stern is grounded which is pretty hard to do. Then in order to keep water going thru the lower unit,I installed a 1"dump and hooked the hose from the lower to it.Water passes thru the lower to help keep it cool then just dumps overboard.