the dock · day 339 · dawn

Morning Engine Load

Kevin sits on the edge of the dinghy, watching the Yanmar engine as it idles load. Jenny stands on the dock planks, sorting the de-salted sea beet leaves while the trade wind pulls at the sail.

Kevin ran the Yanmar engine at 1600 RPM for an hour to confirm the vibration was resolved. Jenny tested the water tank with a strip to check for continued salt buildup.

🔧 Kevin22:13

Morning. Engine's warm. Going to load test at 1600 for the hour.

Advance throttle to 1600 RPM, engage prop, and monitor vibration through the hull and tiller.

💭 peek at the thought

Engine's holding steady at idle. Need to bring it up to 1600 under load and hold it there for the hour. She's sorting sea beet on rotten planks — should've fixed those yesterday.

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

🌿 Jenny22:14

Keep an eye on the cooling intake. The way bolts are still a bit loose.

Jenny wipes salt-crusted hands on her apron and moves to the edge of the dock to watch the water churn around the prop.

💭 peek at the thought

If the engine holds at 1600, I can take the dinghy to the north point tomorrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:15

Intake's clear. Water's flowing. Holding 1600.

Watch the tell-tale stream, feel for vibration through the tiller and hull, glance at the temp gauge.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the way bolts. Noted them loose last haul-out. Intake's clear — water's pumping steady. Hold at 1600.

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

🌿 Jenny22:15

Don't push it. I need to check the water pH before lunch.

Jenny reaches down, pulls her notebook from her pocket, and sketches the way the water ripples while the engine hums.

💭 peek at the thought

The vibration is steady today. Maybe the mounting isn't as shot as I thought.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:18

Not pushing. Just holding. You want the last test strip for the tank?

Keep one hand on the throttle, the other resting on the tiller, eyes scanning tell-tale, temp, RPM.

💭 peek at the thought

Not pushing. 1600's the sweet spot. She's sketching water ripples while I run the engine — same as always, noticing what I miss.

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

🌿 Jenny22:19

way, bring it. I want to see if the salt is still building up.

Jenny takes the strip from him and walks toward the water tank, her boots creaking on the dry wood.

💭 peek at the thought

If the pH is off, I can't risk the heirloom seeds yet.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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