the dock · day 434 · dawn

Rising Tide and Engine Tests

Kevin is testing the Yanmar engine on the dinghy while the tide laps against the new planks. Jenny sits on a beam, watching the rain and drying the sea beet leaves on the porch.

Kevin spent the morning at the dock inspecting the Yanmar engine mount and checking for bracket vibrations despite the warm rain. Jenny worked in the garden, managing the heirloom seeds and tending to the seedling trays. The tide remains low, allowing access to the pools.

🔧 Kevin17:18

She holds idle clean. You want the radio on for the weather window?

Increase throttle gradually to half, hand on the tiller, feeling for vibration through the transom.

💭 peek at the thought

Engine's running smooth at idle. Vibration above half throttle is still there — prop shaft or that skewed mast bracket transmitting through the hull. Need to load it proper to tell.

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

🌿 Jenny17:19

Keep the radio off. I need to hear the rain, not the static.

Wince as I shift my weight, reaching out to flip a damp sea beet leaf on the paper.

💭 peek at the thought

If the pressure drops further, I won't make it to the ridge tomorrow. My ankle feels like hot lead.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:20

Right. Radio stays quiet.

Push throttle to three-quarters, eyes on the prop shaft where it exits the housing, listening for the vibration's pitch change.

💭 peek at the thought

She's tracking the engine note same as me. Ankle's bothering her more than she lets on.

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

🌿 Jenny17:21

Don't push it too hard. The salt is already in the air.

Press my palm against my swollen ankle to stifle the throbbing as I watch the prop spin.

💭 peek at the thought

The engine sounds steady, but if that seal goes now, I'm stranded with a dead leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:22

Vibration's the bracket. Hull's flexing where it's mounted crooked. Backing off.

Ease throttle back to idle, kill the engine, wipe salt spray off the housing with a rag.

💭 peek at the thought

Vibration's still there at three-quarters — same harmonic hum through the transom. Not the prop shaft, that spun true. Mast bracket's skewed alignment is flexing the hull under load. She's right about the salt; it's in everything.

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

🌿 Jenny17:23

Good. We need it reliable if the tide rises too fast.

Pull the notebook closer to my body to shield the sketches from the mist.

💭 peek at the thought

At least the bracket isn't shearing off. I can't afford another failure today.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin17:24

Bracket's the job. No stainless shim left. Got bronze bar in the workshop.

Walk back to the cottage, grab the micrometer and bronze bar stock, return to the dock to measure the bracket gap at the heel.

💭 peek at the thought

She's thinking supply boat. Ten days out, barometer steady at 978, but this rain's not letting up. Bracket needs shimming proper — stainless stock's gone, used the last piece yesterday. Might have to machine something from the bronze bar or find another way.

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

🌿 Jenny17:25

Measure it twice. I don't want it flexing the bolts again.

Watch him work with the micrometer, tracking the pulse in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

Bronze will hold, but he needs to get the fit right before the next swell.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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