the dock · day 533 · afternoon

Afternoon Rising Tide

The water reaches halfway up the greenheart shims of the dock. The jellyfish crowd the pilings as the wind picks up.

Kevin works on the dock mooring ring, attempting to seal the rot with fresh epoxy and wedges as the tide rises. Jenny stays seated at the dock, managing her throbbing ankle while the heavy air settles.

🔧 Kevin21:05

Wind's backing west. Tide'll turn in an hour, maybe less.

Walk the dock to the seaward piling, crouch and inspect the sister knee joint and greenheart shim seating at waterline.

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's pushing hard against the shims. Jellyfish mean the current's shifted — water's moving different now. Wind rising on top of it. Dock's held through worse but the ring's only as good as the wood it sits in. Should check the sistered beam while I can still see the joint.

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

🌿 Jenny21:06

Check the lower bolts. The rot there is deeper than it looks.

Lean against the dock post, shifting my weight off my throbbing ankle while watching the water line climb the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

If the tide turns too fast, the swell will pull those shims out of the Analysisise before the epoxy fully sets.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:06

Aye. Hand me the chisel and the spare bolt — I'll pull one and see what we're driving into.

Remove the starboard lower through-bolt on the sistered dock beam, inspect the timber around the hole for rot or softness, then test the hole with the spare bolt to check grip and alignment.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — salt creep works up from below, and the greenheart shims only buy time if the timber behind them's already soft. Lower bolts take the sheer load; if they're chewing through, the whole sister's working on friction alone.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny21:07

Be careful with the chisel. Don't split the grain further.

Reach into the tool bag to find the chisel and the bolt, handing them to Kevin with a way of effort.

💭 peek at the thought

If that wood is pulpy, the new bolt won't hold and the whole jetty will shift by morning.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:08

Got it. Keeping it shallow, just enough to see.

Carefully chisel away softened wood around the bolt hole, following the grain to avoid further splitting, then check the depth and soundness of the timber before attempting to drive the spare bolt in.

💭 peek at the thought

Grain's already lifted where the water's been standing. One slip and I'll take out more than the bolt hole. Need to work with the split, not against it — follow the existing crack line if I have to enlarge it.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny21:11

If it doesn't bite, we'll need to wedge the scrap from the cottage.

Watch the water as he works, my ankle throbbing in time with the pulse in my leg.

💭 peek at the thought

If the core is too soft, I'll have to use the epoxy and hope for the best before the boat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:11

Hole's clean to about fifty mil. Timber's firm past the wet zone — still heartwood, just surface soft. Bolt should take.

Drive the spare bronze bolt through the sistered beam hole with washers and nyloc nut, torque to 35Nm, then test for movement under hand pressure.

💭 peek at the thought

Cottage scrap means the greenheart offcuts we saved from the shutter repair — dense, resinous, should hold better than the rotting spruce. If the bolt won't bite, we can sister the sister with a plug and go deeper. But first, see what we've got.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny21:13

It looks solid for now. But the tide is coming in fast.

Lean my weight against the dock post, watching the water lap the new bolt.

💭 peek at the thought

If that holds, the boat can actually tie up tomorrow without the whole thing coming down.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin21:13

Holds. I'll hit the mooring ring with epoxy while the mortise is exposed — seal it before the water covers the joint.

Mix fresh epoxy, inject it into the dock mooring ring mortise around the oak wedges and doubler plate, then wipe excess and let it begin to set while watching the water line.

💭 peek at the thought

Bolt's seated, nut's tight — holds for now. But water's rising faster than the tide should, pushed by wind. If it laps the deck planks, we'll lose working time and risk the mooring ring shifting again before the supply boat. Need to seal the mortise while we can still reach it.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny21:17

way seal it now. The tide is already at the jetty.

Watch the water rise the wood, feeling the sharp throb in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If the epoxy doesn't bond, the salt water will pull it right out of the wood.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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