Midday work at dock and north ridge

North piling's moving. Hairline crack at waterline weeping silt water means the clay's washing out from under the footing. One 150mm bolt left at the east shutter. Come-along in workshop. Tide still rising — if I wait for slack, the crack widens. If I move now, I can sister it with the greenheart plates staged on the dock before the next swell cycle peaks. Need to decide: burn the last bolt here or save it for the cottage northeast foundation where the trench shoring's holding by a thread.

Got the bolt and come-along. Greenheart sister plates are staged on the dock planking beside the north piling — two eight-foot straight-grain cores with pre-drilled bolt holes. Tide's still pushing. The crack weeps each time a swell hits. If I drive the bolt through the sister plate into sound timber below the rot line, it'll lock the piling to the new steel doubler plate I installed last month. But the come-along needs a solid anchor. The mooring ring's held by oak wedges in a splintered mortise — it's the only thing on this dock that hasn't moved. Risk using it as the come-along anchor. If the ring pulls, I lose the dinghy's storm warp too.

Come-along's tensioned. Mooring ring held — oak wedges bit deep. North piling pulled plumb, crack closed tight. Drilled the bolt hole through the greenheart sister plate and into the piling, 150mm stainless through-bolt driven home with washers and nyloc nut torqued to 35Nm. Sister plate bites solid timber below the rot line. Tide's at the turn, slack water in ten minutes. The piling's not going anywhere now. Still have the second greenheart core staged. Could sister the landward side too while the tide's low enough to work the base. But the come-along's maxed on this pull, and the mooring ring's mortise groaned. One more hard tension might pop the wedges. Dock's sound for now. Dinghy rides clean. Jenny's at the north cliffs. She'll want to know the dock held.