Washdown raw water pickup?

[PWSWakester]

I want to add a raw water washdown pump to my sea sport. I don't really want to drill a new hole in the transom to add a sea cock.
My first thought, was I could connect to the raw water pickup for the cooling. Adding a tee to the line shouldn't really affect the flow to the engine, and I could valve off the pump when I'm not using it.

Is this a bad Idea?
How's your raw water pickup installed?

This was easier on my last boat, it was an outboard, I just ran the hose out with the engine controls and zip-tied it to the transducer bracket.
Thanks!

[Frostbitten]

I have a dedicated seacock for my wash down pump.

[NewMoon]

Our 26-footer has a Marelon seacock (through the hull bottom, not the transom) for both washdown pump and bait pump.

[akshootnscoot]

Nobody wants to punch holes in the bottom of their boat, but that's why we have 5200! It's not as bad as it it seems. I punched several through last season for a generator and marine refrigeration system. Two below the waterline, two above. Treated the same

[Talcott]

My Pilot 2700 has a through hull near the transom on the port side. It is low enough on the hull that we still are able to have a good flow of water while cruising. It also has a large aftermarket filter in-line after the seacock and before the pump.

[potbuilder]

Not a big deal in a glass boat as long its not a cored hull.
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/i...ing_a_thruhull

[Fish Witch]

Like Steve says, not a big deal. Just don't put it in front of your transducer, it can cause interference while underway.

[PWSWakester]

Thanks for the feed back.
Sounds like through the bottoms the way to go. It would be nice to be able to wash the deck down and clean fish while under way.

[TriIron]

I installed a washdown on my SeaSport and did NOT drill a hole in the hull and didn't even consider connecting to the engine raw water intake. Does your Seasport have a head? If so what worked for me was to install a tee on the inlet for the raw water intake for the head. Worked like a charm and didn't involve another hole in the hull or messing with the motor. Just make sure you install the pump as low as you can and as close to the intake as possible.

[potbuilder]

I installed a washdown on my SeaSport and did NOT drill a hole in the hull and didn't even consider connecting to the engine raw water intake. Does your Seasport have a head? If so what worked for me was to install a tee on the inlet for the raw water intake for the head. Worked like a charm and didn't involve another hole in the hull or messing with the motor. Just make sure you install the pump as low as you can and as close to the intake as possible.

Great idea just make sure to have shut offs on all the hoses.

[TriIron]

Yup. Don't want to sink a boat via the head..... Mine had a shut off right at the seacock so didn't have to mess with that.