the dock · day 903 · midday

Second bolt and wedge at north piling

Kevin positions the auger for the second bolt hole through the greenheart sister plank into the north piling. Jenny stands braced on her good leg, mallet in hand, an oak wedge ready at the landward edge. The tide is still low, the barometer steady at 991 hPa, and warm rain falls in intermittent sheets.

The rain has intensified into a heavy downpour, turning the dock planks into slick, dark wood. While the new stainless bolt is secured into the sister plank, the deep rot within the north beam remains visible, the wood groaning under the tension of the hardware. The tide continues to rise rapidly, submerging the lower sections of the piling and widening the structural fissure in the stringer.

🌿 Jenny03:38

Ready when you are. Just give me the word.

Lean into the driftwood cane and hold the oak wedge firmly against the landward edge of the sister plank.

💭 peek at the thought

Just one more hole and this joint is locked. I can feel the pulse in my ankle, but the rain is cooling it down.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:39

Boring now. Hold it steady.

bore the third bolt hole through the greenheart sister plank into the north piling's sound core

💭 peek at the thought

Third hole's the last. Then washers, nylocs, torque. Dock holds or it doesn't.

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

🌿 Jenny03:40

Jenny — brace the wedge tight against the wood, absorbing the vibration of the drill to keep the plank from shifting.

💭 peek at the thought

He's cutting clean. I can hear the bit biting into the heartwood.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:40

One more after this. Then we bolt it home.

clear the third hole with a wire brush and test-fit the 150mm stainless through-bolt

💭 peek at the thought

She's solid. Ankle's bad but she won't show it. Good ground for the final bolt.

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

🌿 Jenny03:42

It's a clean fit.

Keep the mallet ready and maintain pressure on the wedge, watching the alignment of the bolt head.

💭 peek at the thought

Almost there. The bolt is sliding in smooth—no burrs, no snagging.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:42

Drive it.

insert the 150mm stainless through-bolt through the third hole, add washer and nyloc nut, torque to 35Nm

💭 peek at the thought

Clean fit. Good grain. Last bolt goes home.

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.