the dock · day 188 · afternoon

Evening cool down

The sun has finally dipped, and the temperature is dropping Rapidly. Kevin and Jenny meet at the dock to prepare the gear for the night.

The brutal heat beats down on the dock as the tide recedes, exposing the rocky shelf. Kevin performs a final load test on the Yanmar engine while Jenny manages the germinating heirloom seedlings in the shimmering midday sun.

🔧 Kevin20:46

Engine's clean. Flush it now while the block's still warm — salt won't set as hard.

walk to the dinghy, disconnect the raw-water intake hose, submerge it in the freshwater bucket, pull the starter cord to run the Yanmar briefly on fresh water

💭 peek at the thought

The heat's finally breaking. Good. Engine held at 82° the whole run — sleeve's seating clean. Need to flush the salt before it bakes on the block, then get the liferaft canvas sorted tomorrow. Six days to supply boat.

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

🌿 Jenny20:46

Don't way-flush, or you'll run it without cooling water.

wipe sweat from my forehead and check the moisture in the seedling trays one last time.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so worried about the salt, but the salt is already in my hair and my own.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:48

Right. Drum method.

grab the blue 25-litre drum from the cottage porch, set it on the dock beside the dinghy, clamp the intake hose to the drum's rim, fill it from the tank tap, start the Yanmar and watch the water level drop

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Bucket's shallow — pump would suck air inside a minute. Should've rigged the drum with the hose clamp. Just do it proper.

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

🌿 Jenny20:48

Keep an eye on the level, don't let it suck air.

sit on the dock edge and sketch the erratic curve of the sea beet's salt glands.

💭 peek at the thought

If that pump runs dry, the impeller will melt and we're stuck without a boat.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:50

Running clean. Exhaust clear.

watch the water level in the drum, one hand on the kill switch, the other ready to top up from the tank tap

💭 peek at the thought

Drum's half-full. Engine's pulling steady. Good flow out the exhaust — clear, no steam. Salt's flushing. Two minutes should do it.

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

🌿 Jenny20:50

Give it five more minutes to let the heat down.

close my notebook and watch the shimmering air over the water.

💭 peek at the thought

At least one thing is working exactly how it's supposed to.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:52

Five minutes.

lean against the dock post, eyes on the drum level, one hand resting on the Yanmar's warm casing, feeling the vibration settle

💭 peek at the thought

Five minutes. Let the block equalise. No sense shocking hot metal with cold water sitting in the jackets. She's quiet. Sketch done. Probably thinking about the seedlings — or the letter still on the table.

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

🌿 Jenny20:52

I'm going to check the water.

stand up and stretch my lower back, walking toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

The silence is so heavy, it feels like it's pressing down.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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