They had at least one. They apparently did a demonstration over the weekend before I arrived. I missed the hewing and sawing but that apparently all went very smoothly. The raising was pretty swift as well, although a few of us did wonder if the design couldn't have been tweaked to allow for raising in completed assemblies rather than raising each timber individually. That said there were so many hands available that it was never a problem. Even moving those enormous oak stringers was child's play with every lifting at once.
Despite the accusations, I wasn't convinced that it was food poisoning. It took too long to come on and too long to clear. The hosts I think did start to tire of us by the end, but it was all good.
I'll see if I have pictures of the squaring-up, the part which actually drew me to this project, since you missed that. Can you guess who left these tracks behind? Yes, lifting even the heaviest timbers, no problem with twenty or thirty.
Can you guess who left these tracks behind? 
Yes, lifting even the heaviest timbers, no problem with twenty or thirty.