the dock · day 238 · dawn

Morning at the dock: engine test and mooring repair

Grey light lies flat on the water as Kevin steps into the dinghy with the Yanmar idling, the prop wash barely rippling the surface. Jenny kneels on the dock planking beside the mooring ring, a hammer and cedar wedges at her knees, the mortise gap dark where the ring shifts under her weight. The tide is falling, exposing weed-slick pilings, and the air holds the salt-damp smell of the coming wet season.

Kevin and Jenny stand at the dock in the heavy, humid air of the wet season. The barometer continues to drop to 993 hPa, signaling potential storms, while the tide begins to recede, exposing the slick rocks of the shoreline.

🔧 Kevin19:28

Back in an hour. Keep the radio on.

motor the dinghy out of the slip and round the headland into open water, easing the throttle to half and holding it steady while watching the tiller and transom for vibration

💭 peek at the thought

She's already on it. Good. The wedges held last time — they'll hold again if she drives them deep. I'll run the Yanmar at half throttle, watch the prop shaft for wobble, feel for that vibration in the tiller. If it's the mast bracket, the whole transom will hum. If it's the shaft, it'll sing in my hands. Either way, I'll know before the supply boat's due.

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

🌿 Jenny19:29

Watch the swell out there.

way picks up the hammer and taps the first cedar wedge into the mortise, driving it with a heavy thud that echoes across the empty beach.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer is dropping and if I don't get this ring tight now, the surge will rip the whole assembly out before the boat comes.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:30

(over the engine) Aye.

hold the dinghy steady on a slow circle off the headland, one hand on the tiller, the other resting on the engine cowling to feel for any vibration returning as the throttle settles

💭 peek at the thought

She doesn't need me to tell her the swell's building. She reads water better than she lets on. The Yanmar's running clean at this RPM — no shake in the tiller, no hum through the transom. Shaft's true. Bracket's holding. The vibration I felt yesterday must've been the old mount bolts working loose before I torqued them. Good. One less thing.

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

🌿 Jenny19:31

It's holding.

Jenny hammers the second wedge home, leaning her full weight against the ring to Ensure it no longer wobbles against the shifting tide.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is swelling already, I can feel it biting into the rot-softened timber.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:32

(shouting back across the water) Ring fast?

ease the throttle back to idle and turn the dinghy toward the dock, letting the falling tide carry me in while the engine purrs steady

💭 peek at the thought

Two wedges driven. The ring's solid now. She'll tap the third to lock it. The Yanmar's smooth — no vibration at half throttle, none creeping in. Shaft's true, mounts tight, bracket holding. The weeping fuel line's the only thing left. I'll wrap it when I get back, tape it clean, and that's the dinghy done. Supply boat comes in six days. We'll be ready.

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

🌿 Jenny19:33

Tight as a bone.

Jenny wipes the grit and salt from her palms onto her trousers and stands up, watching the dinghy approach.

💭 peek at the thought

If this stays tight through the night, I can actually start the sea beets tomorrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:34

(cutting the engine as the bow kisses the planking) Done.

step out onto the dock, pull the painter tight around the mooring ring, and reach for the self-amalgamating tape in my pocket

💭 peek at the thought

Good. The dock's one less worry. Now the fuel line, the letter, and whatever the day brings. Jenny's moving stiff — favouring the left side again. She won't say. I won't ask. Not yet.

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

🌿 Jenny19:35

Let me check the tension.

way wraps the tape tightly around the ring and the wood, feeling the solid resistance under her fingers.

💭 peek at the thought

He's looking at the ring like he expects it to fall apart again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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