the dock · day 484 · afternoon

The Rising Swell

The tide has reached the level of the submerged dock planks, and the swell is beginning to hammer against the structure.

The tide has surged higher than expected, sending waves to lap at the underside of the dock. Kevin and Jenny have successfully driven three oak wedges into the north piling's mortise, stabilizing the structure against the relentless pull, but the air remains heavy with the scent of salt and damp wood as the barometer continues to rise despite the overcast.

🌿 Jenny19:37

Kevin! The tide is higher than we thought! Check the mooring lines!

Jenny stands up, wincing as her ankle shifts, and moves to the window to watch the waves hit the jetty.

💭 peek at the thought

The water is coming up too fast. If those rotten planks go, the dinghy is lost.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:37

On it. Stay off the ankle.

walk to the dock edge and brace the crowbar against the mooring ring mortise, feeling for movement as the surge hits

💭 peek at the thought

The swell's hitting the lower planks already — tide's running an hour ahead of the charts. If the mooring ring shifts now, the whole north piling goes with it.

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

🌿 Jenny19:39

The north piling is shifting! Look at the gap!

Jenny grabs her notebook and pencil, her hands shaking slightly as she sketches the way the water is pulling under the jetty.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks a crowbar is going to stop the ocean. The whole wood is screaming.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:40

Grab the oak wedges and mallet from the workshop. Toss them down.

lean over the seaward side, crowbar jammed under the piling head to take the weight off the mortise while the surge passes

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the gap's widened since low tide. Greenheart shim's holding the toe but the head's working loose. Need to drive wedges before the next set.

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

🌿 Jenny19:41

I'm going! Just don't let go!

Jenny limps quickly toward the workshop, favoring her good leg, and gathers the oak wedges and mallet.

💭 peek at the thought

He's risking a fall for a few inches of timber. My leg is throbbing, but I can't let him hold that weight alone.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin19:41

Three wedges. Landward face. Drive them home.

hold the crowbar steady under the piling head, timing the pressure between surges, ready to shift weight the moment she starts driving

💭 peek at the thought

Good. She's moving. The piling head lifts on each surge — maybe three millimetres. Wedges need to go in tight on the landward side to pin it.

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

🌿 Jenny19:43

I'm here! Hold it steady!

Jenny reaches the edge of the dock, breathing through the pain, and begins tapping the first wedge into the gap in the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

If that wood splits now, the whole thing collapses. I need to be fast before the next wave hits.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:43

Good. Second. Then the top one.

shift weight on the crowbar as the surge lifts, keeping the piling head from bouncing, watching the mortise for fresh movement

💭 peek at the thought

First wedge seating. She's driving it true — vertical grain, won't split. Two more and the head's locked.

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

🌿 Jenny19:45

It's moving! Keep it!

Jenny drives the second wedge home, the vibration jarring through her arm and up to her swollen ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is so soft. If I don't lock these in now, the tide will take the jetty.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:45

Last wedge. Tap it in slow — don't split the shim.

ease pressure on the crowbar as the surge drops, letting the wedges take the load, then drive the third wedge home with Jenny's mallet while I steady the bar against sudden kickback

💭 peek at the thought

Second wedge set. The piling head's holding for now, but the gap's still open underneath — water's scouring the toe. Third wedge and we need to check the mortise after this set.

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

🌿 Jenny19:47

It's in. Get the bar out.

Jenny hammers the final wedge home, leaning heavily against the dock as she watches the water ripple around the new brace.

💭 peek at the thought

It's holding. For now. But the wood is like mush and my leg is on fire.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:47

Coming free.

slide the crowbar out gently, watching the piling for any shift as the next surge hits the braces

💭 peek at the thought

Third wedge seated. Piling head's locked. Now pull the bar slow and see if the mortise holds without me.

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.