the dock · day 293 · dawn

Pre-Supply Boat Prep

Kevin and Jenny stand on the dock as the heavy air settles over the water. Kevin checks the tension on the repaired mooring ring while Jenny organizes the drying heirloom seeds for the arrival.

The air is heavy and humid as the pressure drops to 1000 hPa. The tide is rising steadily, lapping against the pilings of the repaired dock. The Yanmar engine sits open on the bench, cylinder head removed for the final reassembly.

🌿 Jenny00:09

The boat should be here by noon. The barometer is holding steady.

Jenny traces the rim of the rusted seed tin, feeling the dampness of the seeds inside.

💭 peek at the thought

He's looking at the wood, and I'm looking at the horizon. If the boat doesn't come tomorrow, we run out of oil.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:10

It'll hold. I double-checked the splice and torqued the bolts to spec. If the crane loads heavy, the sistered planks'll take it.

walk to the cottage and grab the torque wrench from the workbench, then return to the dock to recheck the mooring ring bolts at 35Nm.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's steady but the air feels wrong—like it's waiting. Jenny's quiet today, focused on the seeds, but I can see the way she's holding that tin like it's the only thing keeping her here. I need to finish the dock ring before noon, but part of me just wants to sit and let the silence stretch.

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

🌿 Jenny00:10

Just make sure the dinghy is clear of debris.

Jenny opens her notebook to a fresh page and begins sketching the pattern of the rust on the dock timber.

💭 peek at the thought

He trusts the bolts, but he doesn't trust the wood. Everything here is rotting slowly.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:12

Dinghy's clear. I'll fire the Yanmar at load, confirm the cylinder head's sealed.

walk to the dinghy, untie the stern line, pull the starter cord, and run the engine at half throttle for five minutes while watching for vibration or leaks.

💭 peek at the thought

She's sketching rust patterns while I'm checking bolts. Different ways of measuring what's still sound. I'll clear the dinghy and run the Yanmar one more time—proof the repair holds before the boat arrives.

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

🌿 Jenny00:12

It's still shuddering, Kevin. Just a bit.

Jenny steps closer to the dock edge, squinting to see if the prop shaft is wobbling.

💭 peek at the thought

That vibration... it's still there, just barely. A ghost in the machine.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:14

Bracket's still off true. I'll shim the starboard mount.

shut down the Yanmar, grab the metal file and shim stock from the tool bag, and shim the starboard engine mount on the dinghy transom until the shaft spins true by eye and hand.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Barely a tremor at half throttle, but it's there—prop shaft or the mast bracket alignment. I trued the shaft and sleeved it, but the bracket's still slightly skewed from the storm. If I don't sort it now, the supply boat's crane will shake the whole dock and I'll be chasing vibration all winter.

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

🌿 Jenny00:15

way now. The engine sounds steadier.

Jenny picks up her pencil and starts sketching the way the water ripples around the rotten planks.

💭 peek at the thought

He's good with his hands, but the salt air is eating the metal whole.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:17

Good. Planks next. Two forward of the cleat. I'll sister them before the boat rounds the point.

walk to the cottage, grab the longer stainless through-bolts (10mm x 150mm) and the three salvaged sound dock plank cores, then return to the dock and sister the two rotten planks to the stringers with the through-bolts and washers.

💭 peek at the thought

Engine's clean now. No shudder at half throttle. She heard it before I felt it—her ears catch what my hands miss. The dock planks are next. Two rotten ones forward of the cleat. If the crane hits them wrong, the stringers go. I'll sister them now while the tide's still slack.

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

🌿 Jenny00:17

They're solid for now. We just need that boat.

Jenny runs her hand over the new timber, feeling the grit of salt where the old wood meets the new.

💭 peek at the thought

The wood is soft, but the bolts will bite. It has to hold, for once.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:18

Radio check at eleven. If they're not on the horizon by one, we batten for a blow.

walk to the cottage porch, pick up the shortwave handset, and call the supply boat on Channel 16 for an ETA.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The sistering holds. The ring's bolted. The Yanmar's clean. Everything we can control is done. Now it's just the wait—and the barometer dropping faster than I like. Wind'll back west by afternoon. If the boat doesn't make the crossing by 1400, it won't come at all.

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.