Maybe I should clarify, I meant assemble while in the back half like off an an anchored sailboat as a dinghy, not standing next to it in shallow water like a beach!

The front part will float on its own.  The back part has holes below the waterline for the lower two bolts, and these would probably let in water even with nobody in the boat.  With you in the boat, trying to mate the two parts, those hole will definitely admit water, and water will probably also slosh over the top of the frame, as your weight will put the front part of the aft section well down in the water as you reach for the bow section.  It water or no water, it would then likely be a real challenge to get the sections to mate up, as the bow section will want to float very positively while your aft section will be floating with its forward end down in the water.

When I assemble my Passagemaker take-apart, I'm generally doing it on flat surface with a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet under the whold business.  I get in the after section on my knees facing forward and reach forward to pull the bow section in towards me.  The after section rocks all the way down, stern well up off the ground, and it's pretty to slide the bow section in and get the bolts to line up with the holes, as the bottoms of the two sections meet at ground level.  I hold the two sections by gripping the rim of the forward access hatch (we put ours in along the certline, ahead of the mast brace girder) and threading the star nuts onto the bolts with the other hand.  A line rigged to the grip in the bow transom would probably work, but I think grasping the access hatch rim is more positive.

If your davits allow you to lower the aft section to just above the water and maintain it in a horizontal position steadily, you might be able to float the bow section to get it into position if you can get down into the after section without breaking your neck or falling overboard.  Worth a try.

.....Michael

"It water or no water, it would then likely be...." ought to have been "Whether there's water admitted or no water at all, it would then likely be...."  Clicked when I should have clacked.

.....Michael

   I had thought some sort of tabs in the corners to hold the front downwards to align with the rear might help. I saw that on the PT 11 nesting dinghy....well something kinda similar.

http://www.ptwatercraft.com/ptwatercraft/Albums/Pages/PT11demosShots.html#10

   I'll probably try it next week, butt I'll do it in shallow water first so if I can't, I can just get out of it and put it together

I should be able to get it in the water then for the first time!

   Russell Brown of Port Townsend Watercraft has designed his own mechanism for assembling his PT11, they're made specifically to be assembled in the water without leaking. He's using a captive pin system so there are no holes that allow water into either half of the boat. Both sides are watertight seals. Using the CLC system isn't going to work withought getting water in through the lower holes. Let us know how it works!

George K

   I don't know about the PMD take apart, but it sure looks like it should work.  A bit of water through the bolt holes should not stop you.  That's what a big sponge is for.  I found a video of cruisers putting their nesting pram together in the water.  It's not a CLC Eastport, but a B&B Cat's Paw, but they are very similar in design.  I know there's folks that have devised brackets on the bottom to hook the pieces together and hold them with fewer bolts but this is the vanilla version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF5ToVkX2lo&feature=youtu.be

We weren't contemplating assembling the Passagemaker Dinghy Take-Apart in the water when it was designed. 

Rather, we contemplated it, but the additional level of complexity required to make in-water assembly a reliable operation made the boat hard to build.

I'm sure it could be done with the crew standing in shallow, smooth water.

   Thanks John

I'll try it next week, but don't think it'll work well.

I put the two parts together today with the back part on the trailer, and it was snug.

We'll see hopefully next week, but I think I'll probably be towing it for dinghy use

Yeah, I don't think it'll work, either, as I commented above...

...but our experience was that our PMD Winkle towed along very nicely behind our Menger 19 catboat, having carried the disassembled dinghy in the bed of the pickup truck for assembly and launching of the two.

She towed along well in some, even running off in some chop with a snootful of wind astern and a well behaved load...

...or even if the load was not so well behaved!

Alternatively...

...you can get a couple of adventuresome grandchildren to play "dinghy four hands" (kinda like piano four hands) and have dinghy and mother ship reverse roles.  <;-)

Just be careful...but have fun!

.....MIchael