Day 345

The chapter for this day hasn't been written yet — it's written once the day closes.

Scenes

the dock · dawn

The Heat Sets In

Kevin and Jenny stand on the dock as the heat begins to radiate off the shimmering sand. Kevin checks the tension on the newly installed mooring ring while Jenny monitors the water level in the tank.

Kevin began the Yanmar sea trial at slack water while Jenny treated the remaining healthy seedlings with copper spray to halt damping-off spread. The engine showed a faint vibration above half throttle, confirming the prop shaft alignment or mast bracket issue persists despite recent repairs. Jenny's treatment slowed the fungal advance but two additional lettuce cells were lost before she could spray them.

🔧 Kevin03:13

Three seventy-nine litres. Nine days to the boat. We're fine.

tap the mooring ring with the heavy wrench, testing for any give

💭 thought

The ring's solid now — four 150mm through-bolts, steel doubler, vertical-grain oak wedges driven tight. She's watching the tank gauge instead of the work. Smart. Means she's thinking ahead.

🌿 Jenny03:13

We're fine on water, yes. But the garden is losing the lettuce. I need to get to the trays before the sun gets any higher.

Walk away from the dock toward the cottage.

💭 thought

He's so focused on the hardware. The water is fine for now, but the seedlings are dying in the dirt while he's playing with a wrench.

🔧 Kevin03:15

Take the spray bottle. Copper mix on the shelf.

watch her walk off, then turn back to the dinghy, checking the engine mount bolts one more time before the sea trial

💭 thought

She's right. Damping-off spreads fast in this heat. Peppers and lettuce both showing fuzz at the soil line. She'll cull the infected cells, copper-spray the rest. Should go with her — extra hands — but the Yanmar still needs its proper sea trial under load. Slack water's in an hour. Window's small.

🌿 Jenny03:15

I know where the spray is, Kevin.

Walk into the cottage and grab the copper spray bottle from the shelf.

💭 thought

He's obsessed with those bolts. If he checks them one more time, he'll strip the threads.

🔧 Kevin03:17

Kevin — crack the dinghy's fuel valve, pull the decompression lever, give the flywheel a slow turn — feeling for compression, listening for anything loose

💭 thought

Didn't mean it as doubt. Just habit — same as her checking the tank while I checked the ring. We both verify. She's already moving, ankle brace holding, no cane today. Good.

🌿 Jenny03:17

Jenny — carry the copper spray bottle out to the seedling trays.

💭 thought

That rhythmic clicking of the engine is the only thing he knows how to trust. I can't let the damping-off win today.

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the keeper's cottage · morning

Midday meal and seed planting

Kevin and Jenny meet at the cottage porch for a late breakfast of tinned mackerel and boiled limpets. The garden tarp flaps in a rising thermal breeze. Jenny has the grandmother's seed tin open on the table, damp packets spread out. Kevin has the Yanmar log and a wrench, planning the bracket shim.

Kevin removed the starboard mount bolt from the Yanmar engine bracket at the dock and set it aside. Jenny examined the heirloom seed tin on the porch, selected a carrot packet, then pushed her plate away due to ankle pain and hunger. The barometer continues to fall, indicating worsening weather.

🌿 Jenny03:20

The vibration is worse under load, Kevin. We need to shim that bracket before the boat comes, or we're not making the crossing in a storm.

Jenny flakes a piece of mackerel onto her plate, eyes narrowing as she traces a thumb over the damp, rusted edge of the seed tin.

💭 thought

If I don't get that shim right, the vibration will shake the bolts right through the housing, and we'll be stranded on this rock with own but damp seeds.

🔧 Kevin03:20

Six hours to low water. I'll shim the starboard mount, re-bolt the bracket. You want the wrench or the log?

walk to the dinghy at the dock, wrench in hand, Yanmar log tucked under arm

💭 thought

She's right. The bracket's off by a hair and it's eating the mounts. Tide drops again in six hours — that's the window.

🌿 Jenny03:21

Keep the log! I'll be out in a minute to check your measurements.

Jenny pushes her plate away, half-finished, and reaches for the seed tin, her fingers trembling slightly as she selects a packet of heirloom carrots.

💭 thought

He's moving too fast. He'll just jam something in there and call it 'fixed' without measuring the gap.

🔧 Kevin03:21

Jenny. Eat the rest.

step onto the dock planks, lay the log on the dinghy gunwale, crack the wrench on the starboard mount bolt

💭 thought

She's not eating. Hands shaking. The tin's open and she's picking at seeds like they're the only thing holding her here.

🌿 Jenny03:23

I'm not hungry. way don't use the pry bar on the threads.

Jenny stands up, her ankle throbbing, and walks slowly to the edge of the porch to watch him work on the dinghy.

💭 thought

If he shears that bolt, we're finished. He doesn't listen until the metal snaps.

🔧 Kevin03:23

Not prying. Backing it out slow. Penetrating oil did its job.

turn the bolt counter-clockwise with steady pressure, feel the threads break free clean, spin it out by hand, set it on the gunwale beside the log

💭 thought

She's watching. Good. Means she'll catch it if I rush the threads.

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the dock · midday

Midday work and worsening signs

Kevin is at the dock; Jenny is at the garden.

Kevin stands at the dock, watching the tide creep up the lower pilings. The Yanmar engine sits primed in the dinghy, the bronze sleeves finally installed after days of tinkering. The air is warm, and the light breeze carries the scent of salt and drying sea beet leaves.

🌿 Jenny03:27

Jenny — mix the lime and water into a slurry and carefully apply it to the soil of the healthy pepper cells.

💭 thought

This heat in my calf is getting worse. I can feel it pulsing. If the redness hits the knee, I'm in trouble, but the seedlings can't wait for me to feel better.

🔧 Kevin03:29

Kevin — tap cedar shims into the gap under the starboard engine mount bracket with the mallet, checking alignment by eye as each shim seats

💭 thought

The starboard bracket sits three millimeters low on the forward ear. Shimming it true before the next sea trial beats chasing vibration with the prop shaft again. Cedar compresses, but it'll hold long enough to confirm the alignment's the root cause.

🌿 Jenny03:31

Jenny — limp over to the seed bed, open the heirloom carrot packet, and press the seeds into the soil in a precise, measured row.

💭 thought

My leg is screaming now. I can't keep kneeling. I need to get these carrots in the ground before I lose my nerve or my balance.

🔧 Kevin03:33

Kevin — thread the starboard mount bolt back through the bracket and shims, hand-tighten, then torque to 35Nm with the wrench

💭 thought

Shims seated. Bracket sits level now. Need to snug the bolt back down and torque it, then run the engine at the dock to see if the vibration's gone before we take her out again.

🌿 Jenny03:35

Jenny — make sketch: Garden State Day 345; sit on the garden wall and sketch the half-weeded beds and the new carrot row.

💭 thought

I'm shaking. Hunger or the infection, I can't tell. I need to document this—the exact state of the chaos—before I collapse or the wind shifts.

🔧 Kevin03:37

Kevin — climb into the dinghy, check fuel valve open, pull the starter cord — engine catches first pull, let it warm at idle

💭 thought

Bolt torqued. Mount solid. Now the test — fire it up at the dock, bring it through the range, feel for that vibration above half throttle. If it's clean here, we take her out on the next slack.

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the dock · afternoon

Midday at the dock

The tide is rising, covering the lower edge of the new dock planks. The supply boat is 9 days away.

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What changed

3 intentions for today.

plan · dawn

×2

Yanmar vibration above half throttle is not resolved by prop shaft sleeve; skewed mast bracket or engine mount alignment likely cause

discovery · dawn

Damping-off fungus spreads faster in morning heat; copper spray effective as preventive but not curative once fuzz appears at soil line

discovery · dawn

Kevin and Jenny ate.

meal · morning

Jenny made a sketch: "Garden State Day 345; sit on the garden wall and sketch the half-weeded beds and the new c".

made · midday

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