through hull water pick ups?
 

Any thoughts? Pros and cons?
Thx
P

they are simple, one less hose in the outdrive to have to replace. But they do pick up anything that is floating on the surface.

Always worked fine with race boats. You just have to remember they will draw in all kinds of stuff in busy harbors.....or another way of saying it is..........do not use your boat in the harbor of Genoa, Italy. You could open up a used plastic bag shop and retire.

Peter as you always seem to be wide open most of the time and very little time spent off plane, you would be fine.

I got strainers, that should stop anything harmful. :)

It's better to run it wide open that way you don't have to clean the strainers out...

Hello Charlie. :) One thing that I would love to do (2 things. lol ) Sell the lady, and/or take it to the Med and have some serious fun. A few weeks ago I ran on/through a sand bar. I knew it, my fault, felt it, strainers picked up sand and got full. Shut the motors off right away, no issues, but one of my impellers was fried. Put -puted back to the docks on one, and was thinking that I got lucky, I felt it, saw it, didn't do any damage, but if my outdrive can pick up sand so quick, may be safer with the through hull pick ups that are higher. So.... thinking about it.

If you have imco lowers there is no need for through hull pickups. There is more than enough pressure and flow to supply the motor and cooler/s. In fact I have a thread on this in the tech section as it was problem to get the pressure to a safe level.

Not Imcos. Merc XR SM shorties.

I'm rigging my 24-7 pantera with a through the bottom pickup. Going into a sea strainer.
I'll be attaching a hose from the inner transom assembly water inlet port from the lower unit and having it discharge through the transom and directly on top of the drive.

My experience with a through hull pickup was not good. This was on a 1966 Donzi 16. I live in the Pacific Northwest and boat on Puget Sound. The sea weed would jam the opening and I would have to keep a sharp eye out for increasing temperatures. When they occurred i would immediately have to back down and reverse off the sea weed.