the dock · day 936 · afternoon

Supply Boat Arrival Prep

The tide is rising against the pilings, and the supply boat is still 8 days away.

Kevin secured a second spring line from the dock's north piling cleat to a buried deadman anchor on the bank, using the come-along and a 150mm stainless through-bolt to take torque off the rotted third plank. Jenny tested the southern clay pocket's pH and found it strongly acidic, noting the reading while her ankle swelling continued to settle under the sea beet poultice.

🔧 Kevin05:08

Kevin — walk down the dock to the seaward end, inspect the mooring ring bolts and mortise, then drag the waterlogged crate up past the high-water line

💭 peek at the thought

Water's coming up clean and quiet. Good time to check the mooring ring while I can see the bolts above the surface. That crate's been rolling in the surf for days — might as well haul it clear before the next swell buries it again.

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

🌿 Jenny05:09

Watch the weight, Kevin. The rot goes deep through the core.

Sketch the pattern of the decay on the third plank in the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is softer than it looked yesterday; if I don't replace those planks before the next surge, the whole jetty will shear into the channel.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:11

Seen it. Chalked the line at the turn. Sister plate's carrying it for now.

haul the crate up onto the dock planking clear of the surge, then crouch to probe the third plank's rot line with the screwdriver tip

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. Third plank from seaward — I marked it with chalk yesterday. Core's gone soft as cheese past the outer inch. Sistering held the load but the rot's eating toward the bolt holes.

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

🌿 Jenny05:12

A sister plate won't stop the torque of a full spring tide. We need the greenheart from the next delivery.

Rub the aching ankle and check the moisture level of the sea beet poultice.

💭 peek at the thought

He's being optimistic with the timber; the salt doesn't care about his chalk lines.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:12

Next delivery's eight days. Spring tide's three. I'll run a second spring line off the north piling tonight, double the warp on the ring. Takes the torque off the plank.

stand, wipe screwdriver on trousers, walk back toward the cottage to fetch the heavy weather line and come-along

💭 peek at the thought

Greenheart's eight days out at best. Spring tide's in three. The sister plate and six wedges are holding but she's right — torque on a full tide with swell running will test every bolt. Need to redistribute the load before then.

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

🌿 Jenny05:13

Make sure the bollard is secure. I don't want the whole jetty taking with the tide.

Stand up wincing and check the pH levels of the southern clay sample.

💭 peek at the thought

If he doubles the line, it might buy us a week, but the wood is still turning to mush.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:14

Bollard's lagged only. I'll run the warp to the cleat base and bury a deadman in the bank. Holds better than timber.

reach the cottage porch, lean the heavy weather line coil against the rail, grab the come-along and a 150mm stainless through-bolt with washers and nyloc nut from the staged hardware

💭 peek at the thought

North piling's sound — drove the sister bolts myself last month. But the bollard on that end's only lagged in, not through-bolted. If the warp bites hard on a surge, it'll rip the timber clean. Need to back it with a deadman or run the line to the cleat base instead.

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

🌿 Jenny05:15

Just make sure it's deep enough. The salt is already eating the pilings.

Walk back to the workbench to check the seed tin for moisture while the ankle'.

💭 peek at the thought

A deadman in the bank is better than trusting rotten wood, but the soil here is shifting fast.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:16

Deep enough. Clean stone backfill past the salt line.

walk back down the dock with come-along and bolt, pass Jenny on the porch without stopping, set up at the north piling cleat base

💭 peek at the thought

Salt's in everything. Pilings, bolts, the ground itself. Deadman needs to go deep past the salt line — at least a metre, backfilled with clean stone. The come-along'll give me purchase to tension it proper before I bury it.

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

🌿 Jenny05:17

I'll mark where you need to dig. The soil's unstable three feet down already.

Test the southern clay pocket with the pH strip and note the reading in the notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

He's right about the backfill, but the salt's already in the clay where the foundation meets the shore.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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