In my charter boat, I have a Racor 1000. Every day I ran the boat, I filled the tank and then returned to my slip. The next running day, when I checked the engine oil, I checked the Racor to see if I had picked up anything in the bowl. In the course of a season, I could be buying fuel at 4 different locations. More than once I found water. Can't see what you get in your last fuel fill without a bowl.
I admit that my choice of filters, frequency of changing elements, and requirement of a transparent bowl are a hold over from my charter days. I would buy fuel 80 to 100 times per year. Several times per year we would hit bad weather on the way home. If there was anything in the tank, it would be in the Racor by the time I was back in my slip.
The bowls in my Racors are kept clean. Pretty simple to pull 4 bolts, drop the bowl, wipe it clean, replace the gasket, reinstall, and reprime the fuel system. Generally doesn't need to be done each year, but simple when changing filters.
My trawler has a dual Racor system plus progressively smaller micron filters on either side of the lift pump. I haven't heard anyone in this thread claim their filtration works better than mine and I'm not disparaging any other manufacturer's filter media, so I guess it comes down to some people not seeing the value of a fuel bowl. For people with the 2 engine philosophy, I guess it's not that important.
Ted