How difficult would it be to install a pickup for the raw water pump rather than letting the water come in through the drive?

It's a newer 496 with a new Bravo with the low water pickups and the ones in the side of the drive.

Sorry to highjack the thread.
i would like some more details on this as well . Seeing as my first time out , i sucked both cooling systems full of sand in my 32 .
I would like to know the pros and cons of adding a through hull pickup . Are there any cons?

I run a thru hull in my 25 checkmate w/a 509, it was already done when I got the boat, had the boat for 4 years, has a large strainer mounted on a stringer with a stutoff valve and a y that connect to a hose connection on the transom, it all works great on my boat...Rob

I have them and the goal was for more top speed. You will still need to run water thru the Bravo drive to cool the drive/oil. We dump our Bravo water back on top of the drive as a shower. Some stepped bottom boats used thru hull pick-ups to get clean water/more cooling. On a straight vee, I don't see much benefit besides less drag....maybe +1-2 MPH. Don't know for sure as we made too many changes at the same time to isolate this change. Pretty good size re-rig project and the engines will need to be out.

Sounds to me that a good depth gauge is what you really need !!!!!!!

Hull pick ups are not going to help. They might even make it worse. The drives can be trimmed up. The hull pick will suck up sand even faster. Trust me, I know

If the hull drags the bottom, any style PU will likely gather sand, mud, weeds, etc. My + speed comment only applies to a comparision with transom mounted PU's vs. thru hull.