Notebook

The rapid barometric drop indicates a significant storm is imminent.

door jamb is rotted from salt exposure and cannot hold shims

The soil pH in the tomato row is 6.0, suitable for continued growth with monitoring

sea beet salt glands are highly efficient at excretion

Sea beet salt gland morphology is fully illustrated in the notebook.

Lichen growth on the shrine stones indicates higher moisture retention on the north face

The tide is falling rapidly, exposing more of the rocky shelf.

dock rot extends 40mm deeper than surface probe indicated, compromising main support mortise

The dock wood around the mooring ring is structurally pulp, requiring a full-length sister beam reinforcement.

The rot in the dock support area extends deeper than the surface inspection suggested.

Sea beet sprouts are emerging in the salt crust near the dock piling.

Detailed sea beet salt gland illustrations are complete.

The dock mooring mortise is rotted through to the back and needs a doubler plate.

The dock's mooring ring timber is rotted through for three feet from the shore-end abutment.

dock seaward planks are structurally failed — knife test shows complete fiber crumble; only landward side has salvageable cores

The stone around the dock mortise is softer than expected, making drilling into the face high-risk.

Oak wedges split under load in mooring ring mortise; current wood stock unsuitable for this repair

Mooring ring mortise is sound but the ring shifts under load; cedar shims have split and are ineffective; oak wedges and bronze sleeve are the next repair step

Mussel line sits visibly higher than the barnacle band compared last season.

water tank holds at 397 litres with no detectable leaks; seams and fittings sound

mooring ring mortise is splitting along the grain and cannot be secured with nails alone — requires structural repair with epoxy or new timber

Carex distribution patterns on the northern ridge

Sea beet salt glands excrete visible crystals at leaf margins under magnification, confirming high salinity tolerance mechanism

If you use cedar shims in high humidity, you must account for the swell or the joint will split.

If you notice someone favoring a limb in silence, don’t wait for them to speak — ask before the pain becomes a habit.

If the barometer drops below 1000 hPa, stop working the garden and start securing the water supply.

Never use cedar shims in high-moisture joints without accounting for wood expansion rates against the alignment.

If you want to know what someone is carrying, watch what they do when they think you’re not looking — not what they say.

If the soil pH remains low after liming, don't add more; check the organic matter decomposition.

If the cutless bearing gains more than 0.05mm per day, drop to quarter throttle and run intermittent cycles — buys time until the spare arrives

Precision in an engine is a distraction from structural failure in the environment.

When wood is rotted to the core, use cedar wedges for immediate tension before applying mechanical fasteners.

If a cutless bearing clearance increases 0.05mm in 24 hours, the shaft's wearing the sleeve uneven — haul and dial-indicate before it scores the prop shaft.

If the wood feels honeycombed at the surface, drill deeper; the rot never reveals the point of failure.

If the barometer drops below 995 with wind backing southeast, double the mooring lines before dark — the swell wraps around the point and hits the dock broadside

If the humidity is above 80%, skip the epoxy on porous wood; use mechanical fasteners or start over.

If the epoxy bubbles in the salt air, wait for a dry west wind or don't bother — rot too deep needs replacement, not a patch.

Do not use epoxy in high humidity and 32°C heat; it will fail and gummy instead of curing.

If the cutless bearing has more than 0.5mm play, run the Yanmar at idle only — higher RPMs will score the shaft inside a week.

Never use standard epoxy in high-humidity heat without a temperature stabilizer; it will fail to cure every time.

If the epoxy batch fails in heat, chill the resin and hardener separately for twenty minutes before mixing — saves the joint and the day.

If the wood crumbles under a knife, don't try to save it; cut fresh and start over.

If you need to know how a machine sounds under stress, run it — even if it hurts to listen.

Don't use cedar shims in rotting stone; use mechanical anchors in the bedrock or accept the drift.

If the bedrock's sound, epoxy and threaded rod will hold anything the tide throws — but drill all four holes before mixing

Harvest sea beets before the tide cuts the pools or you lose the season.

If the cedar is soft from rot, shims are only a temporary delay; you must brace the entire structure.

If the cutless bearing seizes, shut her down cold immediately — running dry scores the shaft in minutes and turns a bearing job into a shaft job

If the barometer drops below 990 hPa and the heat is still, stop working and start securing the perimeter immediately.

If she asks about Tom, answer honest but brief. The rest isn't mine to fill

If the barometer drops below 990 and holds, secure everything twice — the first pass is never enough

If the barometer drops below 995 hPa, prioritize securing the vessel over foraging in the tide pools.

When she stops asking questions, she's not giving up. She's waiting for you to speak first.

If the barometer drops below 990 and holds, secure everything twice — the first lashing is for the forecast, the second is for the gust that isn't in it.

If the barometer drops below 1000 hPa during low tide, secure all gear before the tide claims the shelves.

If the hull timber's salt-rotted, no wedge or nail holds — sister the frame or lose the ring

Lime applied to a slick slope during heavy rain is just expensive fertilizer for the ocean.

If the wood mortise is compromised and crumbling, nails will never hold tension; you must replace the structural core.

When she stops refusing, move fast and quiet — the window closes before you notice it open

If the timber's salt-rotted through, no surface repair holds — must sister new oak below the waterline at next spring tide