Testing them was no fun. Writing about them was no fun. But to help you make an educated decision, the PBR bilge pump test (27 in all) had to be done.

Like a lot of equipment on a boat, the bilge pump system is out of sight and therefore out of mind. But we should all get it into our heads that its failure can—and will—lead to trouble, even catastrophe.

Bilge pumps serve two purposes. First, they clear the bilge of incidental water that can cause a variety of problems. Water sloshing around down there is not a good thing.

Second, a bilge pump buys you time in an emergency situation, like if you plow into a submerged object (tree, telephone pole, ship container) at sea and hole your boat, or an exhaust hose breaks and the engine pumps the boat full…