I have assembled my new 8' Porta-Bote twice and it kind of reminds me of being in a sharks mouth with your hands holding the upper jaw while you push on the lower jaw with your feet.
That said, it works great once assembled and does row quite well. I am very much looking forward to getting her limbered up though.
SD, It sounds like you have your Porta-Bote fairly well sorted out. I'd be interested in a diagram showing where you added the extra fittings as I have only towed her a short distance so far, but that is going to change shortly.
Regarding assembly on deck, I have limited deck space (Pearson Triton) and was told it worked well to haul the bow up the mast so that the transom was on deck and assemble her in this position. After my first two rounds assembling her I am not sure you could get the necessary leverage in this position to do the job. Does anyone have an on deck assembly system or method that works well?