Day 249
The Dock Gives Way
Dawn broke heavy over Sorrel. The barometer kept dropping. Kevin and Jenny stood on the dock with the Yanmar idling in the dinghy, torque wrench in hand, fuel lines checked. Jenny watched the exhaust. "It's running too high, Kevin. Look at the exhaust." He backed the stop screw. "Governor spring. Back the stop screw a hair and see if it settles." It settled. They ran the load test in increments — fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety percent. At three-quarter throttle the shaft vibrated. "Yanmar's holding steady at load. Vibration's still there past half-throttle — cutless bearing. Spare's on the boat if it shows." Kevin pulled the prop. The rubber was cracked in two places, pitted, scored. "Not safe for open water." Jenny said, "Then we aren't running the load test. We need that part first."
Dawn broke heavy over Sorrel. The barometer kept dropping. Kevin and Jenny stood on the dock with the Yanmar idling in the dinghy, torque wrench in hand, fuel lines checked. Jenny watched the exhaust. "It's running too high, Kevin. Look at the exhaust." He backed the stop screw. "Governor spring. Back the stop screw a hair and see if it settles." It settled. They ran the load test in increments — fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety percent. At three-quarter throttle the shaft vibrated. "Yanmar's holding steady at load. Vibration's still there past half-throttle — cutless bearing. Spare's on the boat if it shows." Kevin pulled the prop. The rubber was cracked in two places, pitted, scored. "Not safe for open water." Jenny said, "Then we aren't running the load test. We need that part first."
The tide was out. They turned to the dock. Kevin probed the main piling with a crowbar; Jenny sketched the rot pattern, then the splitting, then the cross-brace layout with stress points marked. "The rot goes past the bracket, Kevin. A sleeve won't hold that." He mortised a stainless doubler plate, epoxy bubbling in the humidity. "Watch for bubbles. If it's too thick in here, the salt in the air will ruin the bond." The wood wouldn't hold. "It's gone too far for a patch. We'll need to cut out the rot and sister in a new section."
They marked eight inches back to solid wood. Jenny drilled pilot holes, Kevin ripped the replacement plank square. The saw note changed at the heartwood. "Heartwood's clean on this face. How far back does the rot track on the underside?" "It's tracking right through the center. The fibers won't hold a screw." A runner. They'd have to scarf the full length. By evening the rain hammered the dock roof, the tank overflowed, and the rising tide lapped the softest planks near the mooring ring. Kevin laid out the sister beam pattern — bronze sleeves from the prop spares, staggered holes offset forty millimeters, pilot-drilled slow. Three days' work if the weather held.
Scenes
the dock · dawnThe Yanmar load test
Kevin and Jenny stand on the dock as the Yanmar engine idles in the dinghy. Kevin watches the torque wrench while Jenny checks the fuel lines for signs of vibration. The air is heavy with the overcast clouds over the north ridge.
The morning air is heavy with humidity, and the tide has fully drawn out, exposing the slick rocks of the tide pools near the dock. The Yanmar engine sits silent in the dinghy, ready for its final load test, while the barometer continues to drop, signaling a possible shift in the weather.
It's running too high, Kevin. Look at the exhaust.
Reach out and touch the engine casing to feel the rhythm of the vibration.
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Governor spring. Back the stop screw a hair and see if it settles.
reach for the idle stop screw on the Yanmar's governor linkage, adjusting it counter-clockwise a quarter turn while watching the tachometer needle drop
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It's better, but the mooring ring is still shifting in the housing.
Sketch a quick diagram of the rot pattern on the timber in the own before I forget the specific fracture lines.
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Got it. I'll take those lines and cut the doubler to match the rot — full width, through-bolted into the sister.
watch Jenny finish her sketch, then grab the framing square and scratch the fracture pattern onto the salvaged dock plank I set aside for the doubler plate
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Make sure you use the stainless bolts; I don't want the salt air eating the threads by next week.
Walk to the edge of the jetty to check the sea beet for sprouts near the tide line.
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Stainless it is. I'll drill through the doubler and into the sister timber — no point if it's just biting rot.
pick up the doubler plank, hold it over the mortise to check alignment with Jenny's fracture lines, then drill two pilot holes through the plank into the sound wood behind the rot using the brace and bit
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Watch for a split when you drill. If the sister cracks, we're using the epoxy.
Kneel down by the piling to inspect the sea beet sprouts poking through the salt crust.
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Slow feed, back the bit. If it checks, epoxy fills it.
drill the pilot holes with steady pressure, backing the brace bit every inch to clear chips and feel for any cracking in the sister timber, watching the wood grain for signs of splitting
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It's settling. Let's see if the load test holds the governor.
Reach a hand toward the Yanmar housing to feel the vibration as it revs up.
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Running it up. Hold three-quarter. Watch the shaft.
advance the throttle lever on the Yanmar to three-quarter position, holding it steady while watching the prop shaft where it exits the stern tube, feeling for any increase in vibration through the dinghy's transom
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the dock · morningLow tide and clouds
The tide remains at its lowest point as the clouds thicken overhead, and the barometer shows a steady further drop in pressure.
No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.
Yanmar's holding steady at load. Vibration's still there past half-throttle — cutless bearing. Spare's on the boat if it shows.
check cutless bearing clearance on Yanmar prop shaft
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Check the clearance properly. I don't want it seizing halfway out.
wipe sweat from my eyes with a gritty forearm and step into the dinghy to inspect the engine housing.
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Pulling the prop now. Gonna check the wear on the cutless bearing.
remove propeller from Yanmar shaft and inspect cutless bearing for play and wear
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Look for any scoring on the rubber.
open my notebook and make a quick sketch of the rot on the dock planks while I wait.
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Rubber's cracked in two places, surface is pitted. Definitely scored. Not safe for open water.
measure cutless bearing inner diameter with micrometer and compare to prop shaft OD for clearance specs
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Then we aren't running the load test. We need that part first.
close my notebook with a sharp snap and stare at the grey, rotting wood of the jetty.
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the keeper's cottage · middayA Quiet Stretch
Back at the cottage.
Kevin attempted to epoxy a stainless doubler plate onto the rotting dock mooring ring, but the high humidity and salt air caused the resin to bubble and fail to bond properly to the wood. Jenny watched the process, correctly identifying that the rot had penetrated too deep for a simple sleeve or plate to hold despite his mechanical efforts.
Kevin — walk down to the dock with tools and bronze sleeve
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The rot goes past the bracket, Kevin. A sleeve won't hold that.
Watch him from the porch, sketching the way the wood is splitting.
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Aye. Mortise's gone. Need a doubler plate — stainless, through-bolted from the back. I've got the stock. Will epoxy it in, then bolt the ring through both.
walk back to the cottage for the stainless plate, epoxy, and drill
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I'll get the epoxy ready. Just... don't rush the cure time. The humidity is a nightmare today.
Walk into the kitchen and clear a space on the table for the epoxy mix.
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Mixing now. I'll mortise the plate in first, let it kick before drilling.
walk into the kitchen, take the epoxy kit, and mix a small batch on the table beside Jenny
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Watch for bubbles. If it's too thick in here, the salt in the air will ruin the bond.
Lean against the counter, watching him work the resin.
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the keeper's cottage · afternoonThe Humid Afternoon
The tide remains high, lapping against the dock while the Yanmar engine sits silent in the dinghy, waiting for a test that the dock cannot yet support.
Kevin and Jenny went to the dock to assess the rot in the main piling. Jenny sketched the extent of the decay while Kevin used a crowbar to find the point where the wood was still solid.
The wood is too soft, Kevin. It won't hold.
Pick up the pencil and sketch the specific pattern of the rot on the main piling.
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Aye. It's gone too far for a patch. We'll need to cut out the rot and sister in a new section—use one of the salvaged planks from the old dock. It'll take most of the afternoon, but it'll hold.
walk to the garden shed, grab the crowbar and salvaged plank, then head to the dock to assess how much of the piling needs replacing.
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I'll get the measuring tape. We need to know exactly where the solid wood starts.
Stand at the edge of the porch and watch the waterline where the rot meets the clean timber.
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I'll probe from the dinghy while you measure from the dock. Find the top of the rot—mark it with chalk.
push off in the dinghy with the crowbar and a piece of chalk, row to the seaward side of the piling, and start probing the timber at and below the waterline to find where the wood hardens.
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Be careful with that waybar. If you split the remaining solid, the whole thing will crumble.
Kneel on the dock and measure the distance from the deck to the first sign of decay.
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Got it—feeling the change about two fists below the waterline. I'll mark it there and work up from solid.
use the tip of the crowbar to gently tap and feel along the piling just below Jenny's mark, listening for the shift from hollow thud to firm knock, then lightly score the transition point with the chalk without prying or splitting the wood.
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Mark it another inch higher. We need to overlap the joint completely so the new wood actually has something to grip.
Trace the measurement in the notebook, noting the exact depth of the decay line.
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Right. One inch higher—marked.
adjust the chalk line up one inch on the piling, then row back to the dock to fetch the drill, auger bits, and the longest salvaged plank from the shed.
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I'll start the pilot holes now. I don't want the bolts splintering out the remaining good wood.
Lay the salvaged plank against the
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Cut the plank to match your holes. I'll be right there.
climb up onto the dock from the dinghy, tie off the painter, grab the handsaw and measuring tape from the tool roll, and measure the salvaged plank against Jenny's pilot hole pattern to mark the cut line.
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Take your time with it. We need a clean edge or the epoxy will just bead up and fail.
Watch the edge as he saws, checking the tension on the tide again.
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Got it—nice and square.
saw slowly and steadily along the marked line on the salvaged plank, keeping the blade vertical and letting the teeth bite without binding, until the plank separates cleanly.
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the dock · eveningEvening of the cut
Kevin and Jenny stand at the dock as the sun dips. The salvaged planks are ready, and the marked lines are waiting for the saw to begin.
Jenny spent the evening removing the rotting dock planks to reach sound wood for the reinforcement. Kevin helped stabilize the timber while she sawed through the soft fibers, revealing the true extent of the decay.
The wood is too soft for a plate, Kevin. We have to cut back to the heart.
Pick up the hand saw and begin cutting the first marked dock plank.
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Cut line's marked. Take it slow — let the saw do the work.
brace the plank with my boot and hold the far end steady while she cuts
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way hold it steady. If this slips, the blade'll bind.
Pull the saw through the wood, focusing on the rhythm of the teeth against the rot.
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Sound changes when you hit the heart. You'll hear it.
keep the plank braced, weight low, watching the kerf for any pinch or drift
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I hear it. It's almost through right here.
Increase pressure slightly on the pull, keeping the saw true to the pencil line.
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Good. Let the saw finish it. Don't force the last inch.
shift grip to catch the offcut before it drops, easing it clear so the blade comes free clean
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It's done. Look at the state of that wood.
way the sawdust from the saw blade and inspect the edge of the cut.
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Heartwood's clean on this face. How far back does the rot track on the underside?
crouch and run a fingertip along the fresh-cut edge, testing fiber resistance with a thumbnail压痕
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It's tracking right through the center. The fibers won't hold a screw.
press a thumb into the side of the cut to see how much it crumbles.
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It's a runner. We'll have to pull the whole length and scarf in a new one from the sound planks we saved.
mark the cut line on the adjacent plank where the rot stops, using the chisel end of the crowbar to score the wood grain for reference
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We have to go further back. This section is just held in by hope.
wipe the grit from my palms and reach for the measuring tape.
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How far back to solid? Give me the number so I can transfer it to the replacement stock.
hold the tape hook tight against the end grain while she reads off the measurement, calling it back loud over the water lap
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Eight inches. We need to be sure we're hitting solid wood.
mark the point on the replacement timber with a sharp pencil.
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Line's transferred. Saw's sharp — let's rip this to length before the light fails.
clamp the replacement plank to the sawhorse with a rope looped through the oarlock bracket hole, tensioning it firm against the horse's rail for a clean rip cut
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the dock · nightNight at the broken dock
Kevin and Jenny sit on the edge of the remaining planks, watching the tide turn. The smell of salt and decaying wood hangs heavy in the humid air.
The rain continues its steady, rhythmic drumming against the roof of the dock as the water tank reaches its absolute capacity, overflowing slightly into the mud-soaked earth. The tide is rising quickly, lapping at the lower planks of the dock where the rot is softest, particularly near the mooring ring.
It's deeper than just the surface, Kevin. The whole heart is soft like pulp.
Trace the jagged edge of the rot with a charcoal pencil, marking the limit of the sound wood.
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Stringer's gone back to the cross-brace. We cut here, sister a full-length beam, through-bolt every eighteen inches. Three days work if the weather holds.
stand up, brush sawdust off trousers, walk back to the cottage workshop to get the long auger bit and 12mm through-bolts
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We'll need the heavy-duty bolts; the standard ones won't hold against the salt-corrosion.
Pull out the notebook and sketch the cross-brace layout, noting the exact stress points where the wood is most compromised.
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Bronze it is. I'll pull the sleeves from the prop shaft spares — same metal, already machined to size. Hand me the tape; let's lay out the hole pattern before the tide comes back.
kneel on the dock, take the tape measure from Jenny's hand, start marking hole centers at 300mm intervals along the sister beam line, using her charcoal lines as edge reference
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Make sure the marks are offset enough from the edge; the wood is likely to split under the torque anyway.
Press a thumb against the wood between the marks, feeling for the give of the rot.
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Offset forty, staggered. Drill pilot holes first — don't want to split what's left. I'll use the auger bit slow, let it cut clean.
stand, walk to the workshop, return with the auger bit, brace, and a block of dry hardwood to use as a drilling backer behind the rotten plank to prevent blowout
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What changed
a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.