the dock · day 733 · dawn

Testing the Scarf Joint

Kevin kneels by the mid-span stringer, checking the integrity of the scarf joint while water drips from the northeast corner leak. Jenny sits on a weathered plank, keeping her ankle elevated as she watches the tide pull away from the pilings.

Kevin completed the greenheart sister repair on the mid-span stringer, drilling pilot holes and bedding the joint with the last of the marine epoxy before torquing the 150mm stainless bolts to 35Nm. Jenny debrided her ankle wound and applied a fresh sea beet and mint poultice, then sketched the north ridge soil stability while monitoring the thickening cloud cover. A wooden crate from a lost container ship rolled in the surf at the south beach.

🔧 Kevin10:25

Stringer's sound where the scarf sits. Rot's back further. Got greenheart staged?

kneel at the mid-span stringer, probe the rot line with a screwdriver tip, measure the sound wood depth, then stand and walk to the dock shed for the greenheart offcuts

💭 peek at the thought

Scarf joint's holding but the rot's deeper than I liked — thirty centimetres back from the plank ends at least. Northeast corner still weeping. Tide's falling so I can get at the stringer proper now. Need to sister it with greenheart before the next spring tide.

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

🌿 Jenny10:25

Check the pile in the shed. I saved the heartwood from the wall.

adjust the ankle brace, wince slightly, and sketch a quick detail of the tide line in the margin of my notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

Kevin's worried about the wood, I'm worried about the rot in my leg and the seeds in that tin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:27

Right.

walk to the dock shed, pull the greenheart offcuts from the stack, check each face for checks and shake, select two clear lengths, carry them back to the mid-span stringer

💭 peek at the thought

Heartwood from the wall — she saved it. Good eye. That'll match the grain for the sister.

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

🌿 Jenny10:27

We'll need to sister that joint properly before the boat comes.

rub the sea beet poultice into the wound, feeling the cool grit against the heat.

💭 peek at the thought

He's moving faster than I am today. The wood is heavy, like the air.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:28

Tomorrow's tight. But doable if the epoxy kicks before dark.

lay the greenheart sister against the stringer, mark the bolt pattern through the existing sound wood, drill pilot holes with the 10mm auger bit, blow out the dust, mix the last of the marine epoxy, bed the sister, drive the 150mm stainless

💭 peek at the thought

Boat's due tomorrow. Spring tide after that. Sister needs to be bolted and epoxy-bedded before then. Tide's low enough now to work the full face.

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

🌿 Jenny10:29

Make sure the scarf is flush. I don't want it shifting again.

watch the epoxy squeeze out from the bolts, noting the thickening clouds over the water.

💭 peek at the thought

If that joint holds, I can finally reach the ridge without the dock swaying.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:30

Bolts are clear of the rot line. Two hundred mil either side.

check the sister alignment with a straightedge, torque the nyloc nuts to 35Nm, wipe the epoxy squeeze-out clean, step back and sight the joint line at eye level

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The last one shifted a hair under swell load. This time the bolts go through sound wood both sides of the scarf, not into the rot.

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

🌿 Jenny10:31

It'll hold. way let it cure before the tide turns.

reach for the tin of seeds in my pocket, feeling the cold metal against my palm as I watch the clouds darken the horizon.

💭 peek at the thought

It looks solid for now, but the island is always trying to reclaim wood.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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