the dock · day 125 · afternoon

Midday Heat

Kevin and Jenny plan the afternoon's tasks while the tide laps quietly against the dockings.

Kevin applied two coats of epoxy to the starboard gunwale while Jenny held the tub steady. They then moved to the port side, where Jenny wiped dust off before Kevin brushed on two more coats. The epoxy tacked cleanly in the afternoon heat.

🔧 Kevin11:02

Gunwales are sanded. Epoxy's ready. Need a second pair of hands to hold the pot steady while I brush it on before the sun drops lower. You up for it?

Wipe hands on thighs, gesture toward the dinghy and the epoxy tub sitting in the shade of the jetty timbers.

💭 peek at the thought

She's standing close enough to touch but I can't read what she wants. The epoxy's sweating in the tub — if we don't use it in the next hour it'll kick off in the heat and be wasted. She hasn't said no to holding the mix yet.

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

🌿 Jenny11:03

I can help. Just don't get any on the sketches.

wipe the salt dust from my hands and walk toward the dinghy, stepping carefully over the rotten planks.

💭 peek at the thought

My stomach is still growling from those rubbery limpets, but the boat needs to be finished before the next swell hits.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin11:04

Won't touch the notebook. You hold the tub, I'll brush. Two thin coats, ten minutes between. Start at the bow and work back.

Pick up the epoxy tub and the natural-bristle brush, set them in the dinghy's bow where the shadow's deepest, then climb in and crouch ready at the starboard gunwale.

💭 peek at the thought

She said yes. Didn't hesitate. Her hands were steady wiping the salt off — she's not shaking anymore. The sketches matter to her; I'll keep the brush away from the gunwale edges near where she'll sit.

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

🌿 Jenny11:04

Fine. Bow to stern. I've got the tub.

climb into the dinghy and crouch opposite him, gripping the epoxy tub firmly to keep it level.

💭 peek at the thought

He's in "machine mode" again. Direct, efficient, almost clinical. I wonder if he even knows I'm starving.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:06

First coat going on now. Tell me if it gets thick or strings.

Dip the brush, wipe excess on the tub's rim, then lay a smooth stroke along the starboard gunwale from bow to just aft of amidships, feathering the edge.

💭 peek at the thought

Her grip is sure, no spill. The mix is still fluid, amber in the tub. If I rush it I'll leave bubbles; if I dawdle it skins. One stroke at a time, with the grain.

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

🌿 Jenny11:06

Looks thin enough. No strings.

hold the tub steady, watching the edge of the brush stroke with a critical eye.

💭 peek at the thought

The viscosity looks right. He's being careful with the feathering, which is good, but the heat is making the epoxy set faster than usual.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:08

Brush clean. Ten minutes. Then port side.

Scrape the brush back against the tub's rim, set it handle-up on a scrap of cardboard, and shift weight to ease the knee joints while the epoxy tacks.

💭 peek at the thought

Good. She's watching the work, not me. The epoxy pulls smooth, no fish-eyes. Ten minutes till the next coat — just enough time to wipe the brush clean and let the first skin over. My knees ache from crouching on the ribs.

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

🌿 Jenny11:09

I'll keep an eye on the tack.

lean back against the thwart and look out at the horizon, tracing the line where the blue of the sea meets the pale haze of the sky.

💭 peek at the thought

Ten minutes of staring at the water. My head is starting to swim a bit from the hunger. I should have eaten more of those limpets, even if they were awful.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:10

Port side's got more dust from the dock. Give it a quick wipe with your sleeve before I come round?

Lean over the centre thwart, cuff of my shirt dragging dust off the port gunwale from bow to midships, then straighten and roll one shoulder.

💭 peek at the thought

She's giving me space without leaving. The horizon's dead flat — no swell lines, no cloud stacks. Barometer was rising this morning but the air feels like it's holding its breath. Ten minutes. I'll check the port gunwale for dust while I wait.

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

🌿 Jenny11:10

You're lucky I like this shirt.

sigh and scrub the port gunwale with my forearm, pushing the dust and salt spray off the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

My sleeve? He knows I hate getting grit in the fabric, but it's faster than finding a rag.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:12

Good. Second coat starboard, then two on port. Same rhythm.

Pick up the brush, dip, wipe the rim, and lay the second coat on the starboard gunwale from bow to stern, moving steady and slow.

💭 peek at the thought

The dust lifts clean. She didn't complain about the knees or the heat or the smell of epoxy. Just wiped it down and stayed. The tack's right — tacky but not stringing. Time for the second coat on starboard, then two on port. We'll finish before the light goes.

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

🌿 Jenny11:12

Steady. It's taking well.

tighten my grip on the tub, keeping it perfectly still as he works toward the stern.

💭 peek at the thought

He's in a flow now. I can see the wood disappearing under the gloss, becoming something sealed and permanent. I wonder if we're doing the same thing to us.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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