the dock · day 558 · dawn

South piling reinforcement begins

Low tide exposes the rotted mortise of the south piling where the mooring ring tore free. Kevin stands in the wet sand with the greenheart sister plank and the last two 150mm stainless through-bolts, positioning the timber against the splintered oak while Jenny steadies the come-along on the dinghy's forward eye. Rain falls warm and steady, the barometer at 982 hPa and still dropping.

Kevin works at the low tide to reinforce the south piling using the greenheart sister plank and stainless bolts. Jenny stays near the dock, checking the pantry for moisture damage and pests in the seed supplies while the warm rain continues to fall.

🔧 Kevin22:00

Shift your weight off the bad leg. Brake the come-along and let the dinghy take the strain.

Drive the first 150mm stainless bolt through the greenheart sister plank into sound oak above the rot line, using the heavy wrench to seat it hard.

💭 peek at the thought

The mortise is worse than I remembered — rot eaten back past the inner face, tide washing through clean. Greenheart won't bite in this. Need to drive the bolts through sound timber above the rot line, sister the whole face. Jenny's holding the come-along steady but her weight's wrong on that ankle.

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

🌿 Jenny22:01

I have it steady. Just don't overtorque it yet.

Tighten the lever on the come-along to keep the tension constant, my ankle throbbing in time with the pulse.

💭 peek at the thought

If that bolt doesn't hold, the whole jetty goes into the surf when the tide comes back in.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:02

Not torquing. Just seating. You're white-knuckling the lever — breathe.

Seat the first bolt firm but not final, then position and drive the second 150mm stainless through the lower sound section of the greenheart into the piling.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the greenheart's dense, the oak's punky underneath. Overdrive the bolt and I'll strip the threads in rot. Let the timber crush slow. Second bolt goes through the lower sound section, same treatment. Then the wedges.

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

🌿 Jenny22:02

I'm breathing. Check the alignment.

Release the tension on the come-along by a fraction, watching the dinghy settle against the new timber.

💭 peek at the thought

The tension is so high I want to scream, but the wood is holding for now.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:04

Alignment's true. Gap's hairline at the bottom, not moving. Wedges next — got three oak left?

Pull the three remaining oak wedges from the tool bucket and drive them into the lower gap between greenheart and piling, seating each with the mallet.

💭 peek at the thought

She's watching the dinghy, not the joint. Smart — the boat shows what the timber won't. Greenheart's sitting flush, no gap at the top. Lower edge has a hairline crack in the oak but it's not opening. Good enough for now.

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

🌿 Jenny22:04

Careful with the last one. Don't drive it so hard you split the piling.

Lean my weight onto the good leg, watching the gap close with a botanist's eye for precision.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving fast. If those wedges split the grain, we're back to square one.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin22:06

Third wedge seated. Ring's not moving. Come off the come-along slow.

Ease the come-along tension off completely, unhook it from the dinghy's forward eye, and coil the line back into the bucket.

💭 peek at the thought

She's seen me split greenheart before. Won't split oak if I tap it — but she's right to say it. The third wedge seats and the hairline closes. Ring's solid now. Come-along can come off.

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

🌿 Jenny22:06

It looks solid. For now.

Limp slowly away from the dock toward the cottage, favoring the infected ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

It held. The structural integrity is barely there, but it's enough to keep the boat tied.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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