Just picked up my first float!  77 Hallett Mini Cruiser.  I've built many customer cars and trucks but never a boat.  I'm going for nice reliable family cruiser, not a rocket on the water, so I'm dropping in a mild built carbureted LQ9 6.0L.  My questions are concerning the cooling setup....

I've been trolling around and it looks like many of the guys going LS are using the LSX Adapters and skipping any type of thermostat. 



Then if you go on Hardin Marine you come across this expensive coolant crossover thermostat. 



I'm going wet exhaust through transom, so I'm just unsure which is the best option and why one works better over the other.  My past experience with cars tells me the thermostat setup will help the engine come up to temperature faster and cause less stress on the engine.  If that's the only real benefit of going thermostat then I'm unsure if it's really necessary.  Any advise would be greatly appreciated.  I'm also going to have many future questions regarding other systems, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more topics from me in the future.  And, I can't wait to get the boat out there and meet up with you guys!  Looks like a great group.  Pics below of my new purchase....