the keeper's cottage · day 991 · morning

Supply boat contact and Yanmar load test

Kevin and Jenny sit at the kitchen table with mugs of coffee. The shortwave radio sits powered on, aerial connected. The barometer reads 981 hPa and falling. Kevin plans to test the Yanmar in the dinghy at idle and half-throttle to confirm the vibration fix. The supply boat is due in three days at high tide.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🌿 Jenny01:35

Kevin, the barometer's still dropping—981 and falling. I need you to check the radio coax at the shrine after the Yanmar test. If the vibration's still there, we might lose the transmission when the boat arrives.

walk to the radio and check the PL-259 connector at the mast step while Kevin prepares the Yanmar test.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer's dropping faster than I'd like—981 and still falling. Kevin's planning to test the Yanmar in the dinghy at idle and half-throttle to confirm the vibration fix. The supply boat is due in three days at high tide. I need to plant grandmother's seeds in pocket seven before this island takes me. My ankle's throbbing but the swelling's down. I should check if the radio's coax connection holds through the vibration test.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin01:35

Radio check first. Then Yanmar. If the vibration's gone, the coax holds. If not, we re-route before the boat window.

walk to the porch, grab the tool roll and the Yanmar test log notebook, head down to the dock

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the barometer. 981 and falling means the supply boat won't risk the crossing if it drops below 990 by morning. The coax joint at the shrine is the weak link — if the Yanmar vibration's still there, the mast step flexes and the PL-259 fatigues. Need to verify the engine fix first, then trace the feed line under load.

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

🌿 Jenny01:37

I'll check the coaxial continuity at the shrine while you're down there. If it's intermittent, we bypass with the spare roll from the supply boat.

grab the water test kit and pH strips from the kitchen counter, head to the shrine to verify the shortwave connection holds steady.

💭 peek at the thought

Kevin's taking the proper sequence—radio check first, then Yanmar. Smart. If the vibration's back, we need that coax re-routed before the boat arrives. I should monitor the barometer and prep the emergency irrigation system just in case.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin01:37

Take the multimeter from the tool roll. Check resistance at the shrine insulator — center to shield should be open, center to center through the feed line should be near zero. If it flickers when you move the coax, the joint's cracked inside the heat-shrink.

step into the dinghy, check the Yanmar fuel valve open, prime the fuel pump, pull the decompression lever and spin the starter

💭 peek at the thought

She's taking the water test kit to the shrine? That's not for coax. She's checking the groundwater seepage at pocket seven while she's out there — pH 6.2 with slump notation. Smart. Two birds. The spare coax roll is still uncut in the crate; we'd need to strip and solder a new PL-259 if the shrine end fails. Better to verify the existing run first.

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

🌿 Jenny01:39

I'm heading to the shrine with the multimeter now. Tell me when you're at half-throttle so I can watch the needle.

grab the multimeter from the tool roll on the porch bench, walk toward the shrine keeping the coax cable loose in my hands to avoid stressing any joints.

💭 peek at the thought

Center to shield open, center to center near zero. If it flickers when I move the coax, the joint's cracked inside the heat-shrink. Kevin's already in the dinghy with the Yanmar firing up. I should check the coax while he tests the vibration fix.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin01:39

I'm at half-throttle now. Watch the needle on the multimeter — if it jumps, we've got a bad joint at the shrine.

advance the Yanmar throttle lever to half-throttle position (2400 RPM) and engage the dinghy's transmission in gear to load the engine, then hold steady while listening for abnormal vibration

💭 peek at the thought

She's got the multimeter and the coax loose in her hands — smart move. If the shrine joint's failing, she'll see it in the resistance reading the moment she tests. I need to get that Yanmar to half-throttle and hold it steady. The vibration fix better hold; if the engine's still shaking at 2400 RPM, that mast step flex will kill our signal when the boat's trying to radio in.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🌿 Jenny01:41

I'm at the shrine with the multimeter, checking center to shield and center to center now.

connect the multimeter leads to the shrine insulator terminals and watch for continuity while Kevin holds half-throttle steady.

💭 peek at the thought

Half-throttle confirmed at 2400 RPM. If the multimeter needle jumps, we've got a bad joint at the shrine. The engine's loaded and running. I should check the coax continuity now before any vibration affects the reading.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin01:41

Resistance holding steady at the shrine. Now watch - if the needle jumps when I rev to full-throttle, we've got mast flex.

advance the Yanmar throttle to full-throttle (3200 RPM) for three seconds while monitoring the multimeter reading and feeling for vibration through the dinghy transom

💭 peek at the thought

She's got the leads on the shrine insulator terminals. If I feel any vibration through the dinghy hull, that mast step is flexing and the coax's going intermittent. Need to listen to the Yanmar's harmonic balancer, feel for resonance through the transom. The engine housing bolts we had to strip-tap with the 6mm - if they're still loose, that's where the vibration's coming from.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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