the dock · day 305 · morning

The Rising Tide

The tide is nearing peak, and the wind is beginning to howl against the radio mast.

Kevin ran the Yanmar engine to test for the vibration, but the shaking persisted at high RPM despite the previous adjustments. Jenny inspected the dock pilings for structural integrity and discovered that the rot has progressed up to three feet above the water line.

🔧 Kevin11:22

Killing the engine. Vibration's in the transom or bracket, not the shaft.

Throttle back the Yanmar to idle, let it settle, then shut it off. Step onto the dock planks and check the transom bolts by hand — feel for play where the engine mount meets the dinghy stern.

💭 peek at the thought

Wind's picking up faster than the barometer said it would. Mast's singing already. If the yanmar's shaking at 2200 RPM it's not the prop shaft — that spins true. Could be the transom bolts working loose under vibration, or the mast bracket flexing. Need to kill the engine before something shears. Jenny's ankle was hot yesterday. If the wind keeps rising the supply boat won't land in nine days.

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

🌿 Jenny11:22

Did you feel any play in the bolts?

Lean against a sturdy piling and slowly walk toward him, favoring the bad ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

Finally. He's looking at the mount, but he's standing on a deck that's practically sponge. I need to eat something before I faint.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:24

Two bolts loose. Washer's chewed into the transom wood. Third's stripped — spins free.

Crouch at the transom, wedge fingers between the engine mount bracket and the dinghy stern. Wiggle each bolt head, feeling for movement. Mark the loose ones with chalk from my pocket.

💭 peek at the thought

She walked down the dock on that ankle. Hot yesterday, she said swelling was down. It wasn't. She's limping now, favoring it hard. Should've checked it before I left the cottage. Wind's rising — mast cables humming. Transom bolts first, then her ankle.

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

🌿 Jenny11:24

We can fix the bolts. But Kevin, look at the pilings. The rot is deeper than the planks.

Point down at the water-line of the main support piling, where the timber looks frayed and blackened.

💭 peek at the thought

Typical. Mechanical failure on the boat, structural failure on the dock, and I'm starving. I can't even stand straight.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:26

Teredo. Creosote's failed at the waterline. How far up?

Drop to one knee on the dock, reach over the gunwale, and run my fingers up the piling from the waterline — probing for soft spots, measuring the rot depth with my knife blade.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Greenheart doesn't fray like that unless the teredo got past the creosote. Tide's high — can't see the full extent. If the main piling goes, the dock goes. Supply boat's due in nine days. No dock, no supplies. Engine vibration can wait. Pilings can't.

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

🌿 Jenny11:26

At least three feet. It's soft as cake.

Shift weight off the bad ankle and watch him probe the wood, face tight with hunger.

💭 peek at the thought

He's finally seeing it. If those go, the whole jetty slides into the surf. God, I need a piece of toast or something.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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