the dock · day 17 · dawn

Mast Repair and Engine Prep

Kevin and Jenny stand by the dinghy on the dock where the spruce mast step is split. The air is heavy with humidity, and the barometer continues its slow drop as they prepare the epoxy and clamps for the repair.

Kevin worked in the shed to address the mast step split while the humidity remained high. Jenny successfully planted the viable seeds in the garden and prepared a meal of limpets. The dropping air pressure suggests the rain is approaching quickly.

🔧 Kevin11:36

Humidity's too high. Epoxy won't set proper. Need to cut a hardwood tenon from the oak offcut in the shed and through-bolt it.

walk toward the shed to get the oak offcut and tools

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's still dropping. Epoxy won't cure in this humidity — I knew it yesterday, knew it the day before. Should've cut the oak tenon when I had the chance. Now the split's breathing under every gust and we're wasting time on a repair that won't hold.

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

🌿 Jenny11:36

I'll get the food ready. Just... don't spend all morning in there. We need those seeds in the ground before the weather turns.

Walk back toward the cottage with the limpets and sea beet.

💭 peek at the thought

He actually sees it. He's not denying the physics. I can breathe for a second, but the hunger is starting to make me shaky.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:38

Won't be all morning. Seeds go in after.

enter the shed and locate the oak offcut, handsaw, chisel, drill, and through-bolts

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the seeds. Tomato and pepper packets are the only viable ones left and they need planting today. But if the mast step fails in the next blow, the dinghy's useless and so is the wind generator spar. Both need that oak tenon.

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

🌿 Jenny11:38

Jenny — enter the cottage and put the limpets and sea beet on the stove.

💭 peek at the thought

I hope he's right about the timing. I can't let those seeds sit in that tin for another hour.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:40

Kevin — retrieve the oak offcut from the shelf, set up sawhorses, and begin laying out the tenon dimensions against the mast step split

💭 peek at the thought

Oak offcut's on the high shelf — dry, quarter-sawn, perfect for a doubler. Need to rip a tenon to fit the mortise, drill bolt holes, epoxy and bolt it through the split spruce. Two hours if I don't rush the fit.

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

🌿 Jenny11:40

Jenny — stir the limpets and sea beet in the pot.

💭 peek at the thought

The smell of the sea beet hitting the heat is making my stomach ache. I need to eat, then the seeds.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:42

Kevin — saw the tenon cheeks and shoulders, then chisel the waste clean for a tight friction fit

💭 peek at the thought

Good oak. Dense, straight grain. Mark the tenon shoulders to match the mortise depth — thirty mil, no more. Cut clean so the doubler seats full against the spruce faces. Drill three bolt holes, staggered. Epoxy the faces, drive bolts, clamp tight. Let it cure while the seeds go in.

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

🌿 Jenny11:42

Jenny — plate the limpets and sea beet and set them on the table.

💭 peek at the thought

He's working fast. If he finishes the tenon now, I can get the peppers and tomatoes in the soil while the glue—or the bolts—do their job.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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