the dock · day 783 · morning

Preparation for the Boat

The tide is high, lapping against the reinforced pilings. The supply boat is expected tomorrow, and the dock is failing.

Kevin and Jenny began sistering the south dock beam with greenheart cores, but a sudden squall drove heavy rain and wind across the jetty. The tide pulled at the assembly while Kevin cut the scarf joint and Jenny braced the piling, making progress difficult in the worsening conditions.

🌿 Jenny03:49

Kevin, the south end is shifting again. We need to sister that beam before the tide turns in.

Squat at the edge of the jetty, pressing a thumb into the rotten wood to check the depth of the decay.

💭 peek at the thought

If those planks go, the boat can't load the crates, and I'll be stuck with no food and no seeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:50

Greenheart cores are stacked on the dock. Two eight-footers, straight grain. I'll cut the scarf joints while you brace the piling.

Walk to the greenheart stack, select two eight-foot cores, and carry them to the south end of the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the south stringer's giving way under the tidal push. The chalk marks I made this morning barely cover half the rot. If we don't sister it now, the next surge takes the whole corner.

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

🌿 Jenny03:51

Watch the angle. If the scarf gaps, the whole thing will shear when the boat hits.

Grab the heavy waybar and the sister plates to pry the beam into alignment and stop the wobble.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving faster than I am today, but that wood is soft as wet paper.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:52

Grain's straight on the core I'm holding. You got purchase on the piling?

Set the greenheart core on the dock planks, pull the Japanese pull-saw from the tool belt, and begin marking the scarf angle with a carpenter's pencil against the existing stringer.

💭 peek at the thought

She knows timber. The scarf's only as good as the clamp pressure — if the old beam's twisted, the joint opens under load. Need to check the grain run on both faces before I cut.

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

🌿 Jenny03:53

I've got it, but hold that core steady—the tide is pulling the whole assembly.

Wedge the waybar between the rotten stringer and the piling, leaning my full weight against it to stop the slip.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is groaning under the weight, and my ankle is screaming at the shift in pressure.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:54

Core's not moving. Cut on the waste side of the line — leave a hair for the plane.

Clamp the greenheart core against the dock planks with one knee, start the pull-saw on the marked scarf line, cutting slow and steady to keep the cheek straight.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide's sucking at the piling base — she's fighting the whole harbour. If the waybar slips, the stringer drops and takes fingers with it. Hold the core dead still, let the saw do the work.

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

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