the dock · day 702 · dawn

Low Tide Inspection and Maintenance

Kevin works beneath the exposed pilings while the Yanmar engine idles, checking the vibration mount bolts. Jenny sits on a crate nearby, wrapping her ankle as she watches the tide pull away from the reef. The air is still and smells of drying kelp and diesel.

The tide is receding quickly, exposing the lower sections of the south piling. Kevin and Jenny work together to retrieve the crowbar and a heavy-duty tarp from the generator shed before the water returns. Jenny limps to the shed to check the oil slick on the floor while Kevin uses a knife to probe the joint between the piling and the sister timber.

🌿 Jenny09:02

The wood is softer than it looked yesterday.

Tighten the bandage on my ankle and wince as the pressure hits the swelling.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide is going out far enough to see the rot in those timbers; if those two planks go, the whole jetty goes with them.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:02

Tide's dropping fast. Gives us another hour before the south piling's dry enough to sister proper.

Tighten the last vibration mount bolt with the 19mm wrench, then wipe grease off my hands on a rag and crouch to sight along the dock stringer where the rot line was marked.

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the leg more than she admits. The bandage is tighter than yesterday — infection's not gone, just quieter. I should've checked the piling bolts before the engine warmed up; heat expands the threads differently.

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

🌿 Jenny09:05

I'll get the crowbar and the heavy-duty tarp from the shed.

Stand up slowly, leaning heavily on the driftwood cane to take the weight off my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

If we don't replace those planks now, the supply boat won't even be able to tie off to us in two days.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:05

Crowbar's on the porch. Tarp's under the generator shed bench. Don't drag it — the rot goes through to the joist on the third plank.

Stand, stretch the stiffness from my lower back, and walk to the south end of the dock where the piling sits exposed in the falling tide, crouching to probe the sister brace joint with the tip of my knife.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving like the ankle's a separate thing she has to negotiate with. The cane's new — she made it from the driftwood pile yesterday. Didn't ask me for help. Won't.

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

🌿 Jenny09:07

I'll check the joist while I grab the tarp.

Limp own the generator shed, favoring the throbbing heat in my ankle with every step.

💭 peek at the thought

He's right about the joist. If that support beam is compromised, the whole jetty will tilt the moment the boat hits.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:07

Watch the floor in there. Oil slick by the generator mount.

Scrape marine growth from the south piling's base with the knife tip, exposing the greenheart sister timber's lower edge, and tap it with the mallet to check for hollow sounds.

💭 peek at the thought

She's walking into the shed blind on that ankle. The floor there's slick with oil drips from the generator. One slip and the bandage comes undone — or worse, the bone shifts.

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

🌿 Jenny09:09

I'll check the oil after I get the tarp.

Step into the shed, avoiding the dark patch to reach for the crowbar and the tarp under the bench.

💭 peek at the thought

If the generator is leaking oil, that's one more thing waiting to fail. I need to focus on the dock first.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:09

Toss the crowbar out first. I'll pull the tarp.

Lever the knife blade deeper into the joint between piling and sister timber, feeling for give, and glance back toward the shed door.

💭 peek at the thought

She's stubborn enough to outlast the infection if it doesn't take the bone first. The tarp's folded tight under the bench — she'll have to kneel or bend deep to reach it. Neither's good for the ankle.

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

🌿 Jenny09:11

On it.

Grab the crowbar and slide it toward the dock with a heavy thud.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving too fast for me today. My ankle is a lead weight.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:11

Kevin — pick up the crowbar, set it against the dock plank nearest the south piling, and wait for the tarp to come sliding out.

💭 peek at the thought

Good throw. She knows the distance. The crowbar lands flat on the planks, not in the water. She's still got the arm.

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

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