> The logical extension of this line of reasoning is that judges need to
> first be crooks, and psychiatrists have to be nuts before either can do
> their jobs. Fortunately, it is not necessary to always have experience
> before offering advice.

OK, I'll admit to a little disingenuous false modesty. Anyways, your idea seems a whole lot easier if you have already installed some deck beams that are too high (ie; higher than the stem to stem plane), or if you havent yet installed any of them. But if you have already installed all of the deck beams (17 in brian's case), and the problem is that they are too low, it might be easier to fit a single corrective piece to each beam than to figure out 4 or 5 raiser blocks for each using the straight edge. Although, now that I think about it, blocks would certainly allow for easier drainage when emptying a capsized kayak.