I bought a VHF radio the other week for use in a boat. Unfortunately, on
its first outing it got bashed about to the extent that the battery clip
broke and the battery fell off and got flung around the bottom of the
boat for a while before I noticed. I normally take better care of
things, but it was a very bouncy day and I was having a hard enough job
staying in the boat myself. Despite the newness of the radio I don't
think it's worth going back to the supplier - it was a budget range and
the treatment it got probably exceeds fair wear and tear.

I'll be improvising some form of replacement clip, but I'm having
difficulty with the thin rubber seal that goes round the battery and
makes the radio watertight (supposed to be good 1m underwater for 30
minutes). It seems to have somehow stretched, so that when I put it back
into its groove there's always a little bulge of extra seal with nowhere
to put it.

Is there some cunning dodge to shrink this kind of seal slightly so that
it's a tight fit again? Failing that, is there any kind of thin glue
that's safe on this kind of rubber, so that if I ever do get it all in
place I can keep it there?

Cheers,

Pete