De-winterize for shaft seal replacement? and bilge pumps.

My dealership is all ready for me to give them some February work, namely in this instance, shaft seal replacement. The dealer was candid with me, and said its best he launches the boat in his pond and observe the replacement after installation.

The boat is winterized, and ordinarily we have a lot of winter left. Does the dealer need to run the boat to observe the leak rate, or can he just observe the drip rate with the shaft sitting still?

If it's best if he runs it, can he de-winterize and then real quick drain all the water w/o changing the oils?

Also, any good ideas for bilge pump replacement? I've got 2 Rule pumps, both spin, neither pumps a drop of bilge water. Because of how my boat tips the boat a little forward, pulling the plug does not empty the bilge. A substantial pool collects under the ski locker hatch ... surrounding the mid-ship bilge pump which will not function (despite spinning). I syphon out what I can with a water squirter.

I bench tested the functioning of the mid-ship bilge, b/c it was easy to pull out and take home. I can hear the rear one (but cannot even see it). But anyway, I want some more robust than those silly Rule pumps. They look fit for home aquarium use, and that's about it.

If you still have a drip style packing glad then yes the shaft needs to be turning for proper adjustment. I think even with the new dripless style you may need to run the boat to get the adjustment right. By running I mean in gear with the shaft spinning.

Why not let them do the work and then wait to check it when it's time to hit the water.

That's a good iidea.