the dock · day 85 · morning

The Morning Ebb

The tide begins its slow recede, exposing the barnacle-covered rocks and the underside of the dinghy for inspection.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🌿 Jenny16:29

Finally, some air for the hull.

Walks down to the jetty and kneels by the dinghy to inspect the mooring ring.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide is out far enough to see the mooring ring; I need to fix that before the water comes back and snaps the whole thing.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:29

Hull looks sound where I can see it. Let me check the ring from below—see if it's cocked or just the mortise eating itself.

Slip off my boots and lower myself onto the dock, hanging over the edge to inspect the mooring ring and its mortise from underneath as the tide recedes.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide's dropping fast—now's the chance to get under the dinghy and see what's really going on with the keel and the ring. Mortise is loose, I know that, but I need to see if the damage is just in the dock or if the ring itself is bent.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny16:31

Watch your weight, those planks are as soft as a sponge.

Leans over the edge of the dock, peering at the hardware where the ring meets the timber.

💭 peek at the thought

If that wood is rotted through, the whole dinghy drifts out the next time a swell hits.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:31

Yeah, they're spongy. I'll shift my weight onto the dinghy gunwale—less stress on the planks. Hand me that crowbar, I'll lever the ring up to see how deep the rot goes.

Carefully transfer my weight to the dinghy's port gunwale, bracing myself low and flat to avoid snapping the rotten planks.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right—the planks are giving under my knees already. If I put too much weight here I'll punch through. Need to spread the load or work from the dinghy instead.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny16:33

Careful, don't put too much leverage on that section.

Hands him the crowbar and watches the wood for any sign of crumbling.

💭 peek at the thought

If the wood is too mushy, the bolts will just pull out like a loose tooth.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:33

Just enough to break the seal. If the wood screams, I stop.

Work the crowbar tip into the gap between the mooring ring plate and the dock timber, applying slow, controlled pressure to lever the ring up a fraction and expose the mortise depth, watching the wood fibers for fresh crush or crumble.

💭 peek at the thought

The crowbar's cold in my hand. This mortise has been moving every time the boat surged—ring's working itself loose like a bad tooth. Need to see if the timber's still holding below the surface or if it's all turned to punk.

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

🌿 Jenny16:35

It looks dark in there. Watch for the bolts to give way.

Leans closer to peer at the gap where the metal meets the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

If it's hollowed out, I'll have to replace the whole section, not just the ring.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:35

Bolts are spinning free—no bite left in the wood. Mortise is trash. We'll need to cut a new oak block, epoxy-bed it, and through-bolt fresh.

Pull the crowbar free, wipe sweat from my forearm, and probe the bolt holes with the tip to confirm the threads have no purchase, then straighten up on the dinghy gunwale.

💭 peek at the thought

Dark means rot's deep. If the bolt holes are elongated or the timber's gone to dust around the threads, the whole mortise needs cutting out and a new block scarfed in. No patching this.

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

🌿 Jenny16:37

It's completely shot. I'll have to salvage some wood from that old crate for the block.

Wipes my hands on my thighs and looks at the rotted wood.

💭 peek at the thought

If I don't reinforce it properly, the next storm will rips the whole ring off the jetty.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin16:37

Crate wood's too far gone—salt and sun killed the fibers. There's a windfall oak on the north ridge, heartwood's clean. I'll fetch it this afternoon. For now, clean out the mortise, pack it with oakum and tar so the ring seats flat until the new block's ready.

Scrape the rotted timber from the mortise with the crowbar tip and a chisel, clearing it down to sound wood, then pack the cavity tight with oakum and work tar into it with my fingers.

💭 peek at the thought

The crate wood's salt-soaked and brittle—no good for a structural block that'll take mooring loads. Need sound oak or greenheart. There's a fallen oak on the north ridge I spotted weeks ago, half-buried but the heartwood's sound. Harder work, but it'll hold.

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.