Well jeez, John, I was inspired to write this post by your reply to Truenorth's post about Bulkhead 8!
Maybe the lazarettes are leaking badly on PocketShip #1 and not on #2?
Anyway, when I took a ride on Captain Charlie's boat he said he didn't have any problems. I think he said he sealed the outer flanges with something like plumber's putty. I guess that would work but I don't know why silicon seal would not work as well or better. (Cap'n Charlie can correct me if I'm wrong about the sealer he used.) Pascal says to make sure the seal is installed the right way, but I don't know whether he is talking about the flange-to-deck seal or the door-to-flange seal.
The bottom line is it looks like people are making this work, so I'm going to stop worrying about it. I may actually break down and read the directions this time.
Sorry about all the smiley's, but I think they are helpful when you can't hear a person's tone of voice ("suprasegmental phonemes" as my old English prof used to say).