the dock · day 797 · dawn

The Rising Tide

Kevin and Jenny stand on the dock as the tide begins to creep back toward the lower pilings. The air is heavy with humidity, and the horizon thickens with a layer of grey clouds.

The tide is receding quickly, leaving slick algae and small tide pools exposed around the dock pilings. The air is heavy with humidity, and the thickening cloud cover suggests a coming squ. Kevin and Jenny finish securing the dinghy just as the water level drops away from the already-swollen timbers of the dock.

🌿 Jenny17:39

The tide is coming in earlier than the chart. We need to move the dinghy before the swell increases.

Jenny shifts weight to her good leg, wincing as the throbbing in her ankle pulses against the bandage.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is rotting faster than I can replace it; if the boat doesn't come in seven days, this jetty is gone.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:40

Aye. Bow and stern lines doubled, fenders out. You take the bow — I'll handle the engine mount.

walk to the dinghy and check the stern line tension, then secure the engine mount bolts

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the barometer's steady but the tide's pushing early, and that swell will bounce the dinghy off the pilings if we don't get it secured. Her ankle's worse than she's letting on.

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

🌿 Jenny17:41

Be careful with the weight. The wood is soft as wet paper near the waterline.

Jenny moves to the bow of the dinghy, gripping the damp timber to steady herself against the rising water.

💭 peek at the thought

He's focused on the bolts, but I'm looking at the salt-eaten grain.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:42

Bolts are stainless, went into greenheart doubler. She'll hold. Watch your footing on the bow — that plank's got give.

check the Yanmar mount bolts with the 19mm wrench, confirming torque on all four

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong — the landward stringer's punky below the waterline. But the engine's mounted and the bolts are fresh. Just need to check torque and make sure the vibration damper's seated.

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

🌿 Jenny17:43

I know. The swell is shifting the whole thing if the tide gets too high.

Jenny kneels at the bow, testing the stability of the wood with her hand while watching the water lap the pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

He trusts the hardware, but I see the rot eating the heart from the inside.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:45

Cleat's sistered. Held last storm. But if the tide pushes past the ninth rung —

glance at the tide marks on the piling, counting rungs, then secure the dinghy's bow line to the midships cleat with a round turn and two half hitches

💭 peek at the thought

She's testing the dock, not the dinghy. Smart. The whole finger pier moves when the swell hits the south piling right. If the landward cleat pulls out, we lose the lot.

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

🌿 Jenny17:45

Then we'll have to haul the dinghy to the cove. The tide is moving too fast today.

Jenny adjusts the rope, feeling the vibration of the water against the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

If it hits the ninth rung, the whole jetty is a loss to the sea.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:46

Winch is sound. Skid logs by the shed. You drive the winch — I'll muscle the rails.

grab the come-along from the workshop and run the line to the dinghy's bow eye, setting the skid logs under the transom

💭 peek at the thought

Hauling her to the cove means the winch, the skid logs, and her on that ankle. But she's right — the swell's building faster than the tide table says. Barometer's steady but the wind's backing southwest. We'll lose the dinghy if she stays here.

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.