An update. I have continued doing painting on the interior and  progressing with the deck framing. I find framing the deck a very enjoyable task! I was concerned that the rather tenuous connections between the beams and clamps were very weak but as I installed the lodging knees it became a very strong and stable hull.   As to the lodging knees: I measured between the beams, cut the raw wood a bit oversize and sanded them down to a snug friction fit. I then took measurements from the pl