the dock · day 222 · afternoon

Yanmar load test and supply boat watch

Kevin and Jenny stand on the dock beside the dinghy. The Yanmar is warmed up. Kevin engages forward gear and advances the throttle to half, watching the prop wash and listening for any change in the engine note. Jenny shields her eyes against the overcast, scanning the horizon for the supply boat's smoke.

The heat of the afternoon lingers over the dock as the sky thickens to a flat, heavy grey. The Yanmar engine hums with a steady, rhythmic vibration under load, the bronze sleeve holding firm against the torque. Kevin monitors the throttle while Jenny checks the structural integrity of the dock planks, the tide rising rapidly against the salt-stained pilings.

🔧 Kevin04:04

Running sweet. No shake at half throttle. Temperature stable.

hold the throttle steady at half, eyes on the horizon past Jenny's shoulder

💭 peek at the thought

Engine note's steady. Exhaust clean. No vibration through the gearbox casing. The sleeve's holding at load — that's the test passed. Now I need to see the boat.

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

🌿 Jenny04:05

Check the seacocks again. The tide is coming in fast today.

Step to the edge of the dock and kick the rotten timber plank, testing for stability.

💭 peek at the thought

If the engine holds under load, I can actually get to the north ridge if the boat fails again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:06

Seacocks held at idle. I'll check under load. That plank's gone — shifts when you kick it.

ease the throttle back to idle, kill the engine, and step onto the dock to check the raw water strainer and seacock for weeping

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the tide. Seacocks were tight at idle but load changes things. And that plank's been soft since October.

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

🌿 Jenny04:06

It's way gone. We need to reinforce the ring before the supply boat arrives.

Grab the crowbar and pry at the loose edge to see how much of the joint is left.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is rotting through the core; if that plank goes, the whole mooring system is compromised.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:08

Wedges bought us time. Mortise is shot. Need to drill through for stainless rod and a backing plate on the underside. Got the bronze bolt from the crate — that and two more through-bolts.

pocket the crowbar she hands back, walk the dock fingers testing each plank for rot, marking the bad ones with a scratch of the knife

💭 peek at the thought

Mooring ring's the priority. Supply boat's two days out and that ring's the only thing keeping her off the rocks. Mortise is eaten out — saw it when I drove the wedges. Needs through-bolts and a backing plate.

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

🌿 Jenny04:08

I'll get the drill from the way. We need to be fast before the tide rises further.

Wipe grease off my hands on my jeans and head toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

If I can't fix the dock, I'm stranded on this rock when the next storm actually hits.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:10

Three sound planks by the shed. I'll stage them.

walk to the garden shed, haul the three sound dock planks to the jetty, and lay them out beside the rotten section

💭 peek at the thought

She moves fast when there's work. Good. Drill's in the workshop by the lathe. I'll pull the sound planks from the stack by the shed while she's gone — three good cores left from the last repair.

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

🌿 Jenny04:10

I'm getting the drill and the stainless bolts. Don't lose an eye on that tide.

Step into the way and head for the workbench.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is soft as a sponge. If I don't reinforce the frame now, the wayhy will pull the whole jetty apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:12

Back before the water covers the bolt heads.

pry the two rotten planks clear with the crowbar, exposing the mooring ring mortise and the eaten-out timber beneath

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's pushing hard against the pilings now. Water's up to the lower stringer. We've got maybe ninety minutes before the dock's too wet to drill clean. She'll be back with the drill and bolts. I'll have the planks positioned and the ring exposed.

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

🌿 Jenny04:12

It's a mess. I need the backing plate and the heavy-duty bolts.

Squint at the exposed wood, measuring where the new timber will sit.

💭 peek at the thought

The frame is completely shot through. If I don't plate the underside, the wayhy will drift off with the first real swell.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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