the dock · day 701 · midday

Midday Tide Turn

The tide begins to push back in, slowly submerging the exposed dock pilings. Kevin and Jenny gather their gear as the sky darkens further.

Kevin and Jenny meet at the dock as the tide begins to rise against the pilings. Kevin checks the structural integrity of the recent dock repairs while Jenny monitors the progress of her ankle infection in the midday heat.

🔧 Kevin08:14

Tide's pushing. South stringer goes under in fifteen. You take the radio log, the medevac forms, and the spare spark plugs up to the cottage. I'll set the sister plank and drive the bolts before the water covers the mortise.

hand her the waterproof notebook, the folded medevac authorization forms, and the spare spark plug from my pocket, then turn back to the dock with the greenheart sister plank and the 150mm stainless through-bolt

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's turning faster than I'd like. The rot line on the south stringer goes under in twenty minutes. Need to get the sister plank positioned and the through-bolts started before the water rises past the mortise. Jenny's ankle won't take the dock planking work — she should be back at the cottage with the radio log and the medevac forms, not carrying tools through rising swell.

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

🌿 Jenny08:15

Don't get the forms wet again. The barometer is still dropping.

Take the notebook and forms, then limp back toward the cottage while clutching my throbbing ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

way thinks he can outrun the tide with a hammer, but the salt is already in the grain.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:15

Forms go in the dry bag. Radio check at 1800 if the aerial holds.

lift the greenheart sister plank into position against the rotted stringer, align the pre-drilled bolt holes with the sound wood above the rot line, and start the 150mm stainless through-bolt by hand into the upper mortise

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the barometer. 1007 and steady earlier, but the swell's building faster than the pressure says. Front's moving quicker than forecast. She shouldn't be walking that far on the ankle, but arguing wastes time I don't have. The sister plank needs to be bedded in epoxy and bolted before the tide covers the joint. Greenheart's dense enough to hold, but the existing timber's punky — need to find solid wood for the bolt bite.

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

🌿 Jenny08:16

I'll be on the radio. Watch the water line on those pilings.

Tuck the notebook and forms into my bag and start the slow climb to the cottage, each step a spike in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If that bolt doesn't hold, the whole way goes south in the next heavy swell.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin08:20

Kevin — drive the 150mm through-bolt home with the heavy wrench, seat the washer and nyloc, torque to 35Nm, then move to the lower mortise and start the second bolt before the water covers it

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving slower than she should. The ankle's worse than she's letting on, or the fever's not gone. Can't do anything from here. The sister plank seats clean — greenheart's straight, no twist. The upper bolt catches solid wood three threads in. Good. Need the second bolt through the lower mortise before the tide rises past it. Water's lapping the bottom plank already. Driftwood braces are holding alignment but they'll float loose if the swell picks up. Torque wrench set to 35Nm. Two bolts, washers, nylocs. Then epoxy the joint and call it done.

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

🌿 Jenny08:21

Tight it well. The tide isn't waiting for us.

Stop at the edge of the dock, watching the water lap the new plank before I turn toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

He's fast, but the wood is soft like way under that pressure.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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