the dock · day 272 · dawn

Pre-Swell Prep

Kevin and Jenny stand by the reinforced dock rings as the wind picks up from the southwest. Jenny checks the tension on the garden tarp line while Kevin inspects the Yanmar mount bolts for shifting.

Kevin and Jenny spend the morning at the dock preparing for the upcoming supply boat. Kevin inspects the Yanmar engine for any vibrations under load while Jenny checks the drying heirloom seed packets for further mold spread.

🌿 Jenny04:35

The bolts are vibrating, Kevin. Tighten them again or the salt will shear them.

Pull the garden tarp line taut and secure it to the cleat on the dinghy.

💭 peek at the thought

The wind is turning; if the pressure drops any further, the garden beds will be washed out before the boat even arrives.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:36

Aye. Got the torque wrench in the shed. Ten minutes.

Walk to the workshop shed, retrieve the torque wrench and a wire brush, then return to the dinghy at the dock.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the vibration. Felt it in the tiller yesterday at half throttle — not the engine, the mount. Salt's got into the threads. If I don't nip it now the transom takes the shock.

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

🌿 Jenny04:37

Make sure you brush the corrosion off the heads first, or the torque won't be accurate.

Sketch the pattern of the salt crystallization on the wood in my notebook while I wait.

💭 peek at the thought

If he takes longer than ten minutes, I'll do the engine mount myself; the salt is already eating the threads.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:38

Wire brush first. Then torque.

Scrub the bolt heads and exposed threads with the wire brush, blow the dust clear, then set the torque wrench to 35Nm and tighten each Yanmar mount bolt in sequence.

💭 peek at the thought

She knows the job. Salt crust throws the reading off by twenty percent if you don't clean it. Good eye.

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

🌿 Jenny04:39

Check the seating again once you're done; the vibration was significant.

Watch the tide line on the jetty pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

He's actually doing it right for once, but the barometer is still dropping and my stomach is growling loud enough.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:40

Checking seats next.

After torquing all four mount bolts, run fingers along each engine foot where it meets the transom bracket, feeling for fresh fretting or powdered alloy, and wiggle the engine hard by the flywheel housing to test for any play in the seats.

💭 peek at the thought

She's watched that engine shake. Knows what significant means — the whole transom humming at three-quarter throttle. If the seats have pounded loose, torque won't hold.

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

🌿 Jenny04:41

If it moves, we need to shim it with some brass. I don't trust those bolts yet.

Rub the salt crust off my hands and look at the barometric reading again.

💭 peek at the thought

If there's even a millimeter of play, the whole assembly will shake itself apart the moment we hit a swell.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin04:42

Mounts are tight. Seats don't move. Vibration's the shaft alignment — sleeve's true but the bracket's still skewed a hair. We'll true it when the boat's here and we can haul. Right now the barometer's the thing.

Wipe hands on trousers, step to the cottage porch, and read the barometer properly — tap the glass, note the needle, compare to 0600.

💭 peek at the thought

Engine's solid. No play at the feet, no fretting powder. The vibration's the prop shaft — felt it in the tiller, not the mounts. She's watching the barometer drop. That's the real job.

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.