the dock · day 310 · dawn

The Low Tide Window

Kevin and Jenny stand on the dock as the tide is at its lowest point. Jenny measures the depth of the rot in the beam while Kevin prepares the greenheart sister plank for installation.

Kevin and Jenny attempt to sister the dock beam with a greenheart plank during the low tide. The effort reveals the rot is deeper than the surface suggests, and the structural integrity fails to hold under pressure despite de-bolting.

🔧 Kevin16:20

It’s eaten through past the bolt zone. We’ll sister for now, but that piling needs replacing. Hand me the brace—let’s hold it steady till slack.

brace the dock piling with spruce offcuts to prevent further flex while Jenny measures, then test-fit the greenheart sister plank to the beam.

💭 peek at the thought

The rot goes deeper than I hoped—two feet below waterline on the south piling. Sistering won’t hold if the pile’s hollow. I need to brace it now and plan a full replacement after the tide turns. Jenny’s quiet focus tells me she sees it too.

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

🌿 Jenny16:22

The rot goes deeper than the surface shows. We need the greenheart set today, or the boat won't hold the weight.

Press a thumb into the decayed timber to test the resistance, then sketch the extent of the cavity in the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is soft, like wet cardboard; if I don't fix this now, the whole jetty will shear in the next surge.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:23

Then we set it now. Pass me the mallet and the longest bolt—I’ll drive it home while you hold the plank true.

install the greenheart sister plank to the dock beam using stainless through-bolts, tightening to 35Nm, then check for flex under hand pressure.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s right—if we don’t get this sister in before the tide lifts, the beam’ll keep sagging. I’ve got the plank ready, stainless bolts cleaned, and the hole chiseled out to sound wood. Now’s the window.

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

🌿 Jenny16:23

It's tight for now, but the rot is still there underneath.

Wipe the sawdust from the greenheart and mark the notebook to return and check the bolts at high tide.

💭 peek at the thought

If this beam doesn't hold, the dinghy is lost, and I'm stranded with nothing but weeds.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:24

Bolts are solid. We’ll come back at high water with the jack and the last of the epoxy. If it’s gone, I’ll mix sawdust and tar—it’ll breathe but it’ll seal.

walk back to the cottage to fetch the hydraulic jack and the nearly empty epoxy tub, then return to the dock to wait for high tide.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s not wrong. The sister takes the load, but the rot underneath keeps eating. We’ll need to jack the beam at high tide, scrape clean, and pack epoxy—if there’s any left. For now, the bolts hold. The tide’s turning.

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

🌿 Jenny16:25

If the epoxy runs out, we'll have to be careful with the seal.

Watch the water creep up the pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

He's talking about tar and sawdust while I'm looking at the way the wood is giving up.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:26

I’ll make it stretch. If it doesn’t, we’ll drive oak wedges into the worst gaps and band it with galvanized strap. Ugly, but it’ll last the season.

sit on the dock planking and watch the tide rise, wiping salt from the torque wrench while the water climbs the pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

The epoxy tub’s got maybe one good squeeze left—enough for the worst pocket if I thin it with a little diesel. But the real fix is cutting out the rot and sistering a full new section of greenheart. That’s a two-day job with the boat due in four. We do what holds.

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

🌿 Jenny16:27

I've got the torque wrench down to three turns before it strips.

Check the barometer reading again—1034 and falling means we get the full high tide window.

💭 peek at the thought

He's sitting there calculating how much rot he can paper over with tar and wedges.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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