The housing as shown needed to be fixed but allowing for some flexing of the hull and indeed Sikaflex seemed ideal. Where my helper friend and me founded was not looking up existing data on the handling of this sealant. Clean 'offable' before setting, at an exponential with time, but once set it become a extreme hindrance. The obvious use of gloves became out of the question for in the handling of the fastenings the glove material pulled itself off the fingers and onto the components so it became bare fingered.
Available data suggested that it could only be removed from the hands, once set, using a razor blade, not exactly what the doctor ordered.
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The above shows the 'sandwich' that was to constitute the seal. The boat hull, to be the meat between the 'bread', so to speak, is missing here but shown below.
The above shows how the sealant was laid to encapsulate each hole through which there would be a fastening.
After tightening up the job was horrendously messy and like our hands below it took hours and great patience to remove. The cured sealant, by now cured, needed four days before all traces left our hands despite washing, scrubbing and the use of all reasonable solvents and abrasive creams. I think this is the time that it takes for the skin of the hand ex-foliate the dead surface epithelium.
This view underneath the boat shows pretty much the same picture.
I haven't solved the problem I've shown and it looms again in the business of sealing the engine box against the hull in much the same way. However the use of a gasket, especially a compressible one, such that could be made from Neoprene Foam, rides high on the list. This compresses by one third and is available as sheeting in a range of thicknesses up to 6mm from Ram Gaskets. I have asked for samples and this company is sending me some.
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