the dock · day 243 · morning

The Storm Deepens

Kevin and Jenny meet under the porch overhang as the rain intensifies. The tide is now lapping the edge of the dock.

Kevin attempted to pull the Yanmar prop shaft using a bronze drift and three-pound hammer but failed to free it, while Jenny successfully secured the radio mast insulator with the spare porcelain and checked the water tank for leaks, finding none.

🔧 Kevin00:30

Tide's pushing hard. Dock planks two and three from the end are next if this keeps up.

Walk to the dock edge and crouch, testing the rotten planks with a boot heel

💭 peek at the thought

Water's climbing the pilings faster than last week. If the supply boat shows tomorrow, she'll need the full dock length — those rotten planks I haven't replaced yet will take the bow line.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny00:32

They're already soft through. We need to reinforces them before the supply boat even shows up tomorrow.

Jenny walk to the edge of the jetty and run a hand over the waterlogged wood, feeling for the give in the grain.

💭 peek at the thought

If those planks go, the dinghy drifts, and I'm stranded on this rock with nothing but dead seeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:33

Three sound cores behind the shed. Maybe four. If the bearers hold, we sister the rotten ones before the boat ties up.

Stand and head back toward the cottage for tools, calling over shoulder: "Crowbar. Mallet. Spikes. Meet you there."

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The rot's past the surface. Three planks minimum, maybe four if the bearers have wicked water. Got sound cores from the last repair stashed behind the shed — three, maybe four usable. Need the crowbar, mallet, galvanized spikes. And the tide's not waiting.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny00:34

I'll get the water test kit and check the tank while you're grabbing the wood.

Jenny turns away from the dock and starts own the cottage, her boots slipping in the rising mud.

💭 peek at the thought

If the bearers don't hold, the whole thing collapses into the surf by morning.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:34

Strips are in the drawer by the sink. Five left.

Walk around to the woodpile behind the shed, sorting through the salvaged dock planks for the straightest, driest cores

💭 peek at the thought

Tank's fine — 397 litres, topped off last rain. But she wants something to do, something that isn't the dock or the silence. Let her.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny00:36

I'm checking the tank for leaks. The barometer is dropping too fast for my own comfort.

Jenny enters the cottage and shakes the rain off her coat, heading for the water tank.

💭 peek at the thought

Five strips isn't enough if the whole length needs it sistered.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.