the dock · day 251 · night

morning inspection of the hull

The first light hits the dock as the tide reaches its lowest point. Kevin prepares to haul the dinghy to check the cutless bearing.

Kevin and Jenny hauled the dinghy onto the dock railway to inspect the prop shaft. Kevin used the bearing puller to slide the bronze sleeve off the shaft to check for corrosion or scoring. The metal surface appeared clean, and they found no hidden pitting within the bore of the sleeve.

🔧 Kevin09:16

Kevin — walk down the dock to the dinghy, untie the stern line and forward spring, and haul her up the marine railway using the hand winch until the hull clears the water and the prop shaft's accessible

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's at the bottom. Best window to haul her and get the dial indicator on that cutless bearing before the water comes back up. 0.35mm clearance yesterday — if it's crept past 0.4 I'm pulling the shaft and fitting the spare sleeve today.

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

🌿 Jenny09:17

Check the gap on the sleeve, Kevin. The salt has eaten the metal deeper than the wood.

wipe the grease from my hands on my jeans and lean over the hull to inspect the alignment.

💭 peek at the thought

If that bearing is shot, we aren't getting to the mainland if the boat misses us again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:17

Aye. Salt creep. I'll pull the sleeve and check the shaft under it. If it's pitted, I've got the spare sleeve roughed out — just needs final hone and fit.

grab the bearing puller from the workshop crate, bolt it to the prop flange, and wind it in to press the bronze sleeve off the prop shaft while Jenny watches the gap between sleeve and shaft journal for corrosion or scoring

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the bronze sleeve's seating on the shaft, but the prop nut's torqued and the shaft's still showing that faint vibration. If the sleeve's corroded where it meets the shaft journal, even a true reading on the cutless bearing won't fix the harmonics. Need to pull it and check the seating surface.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny09:20

Look for scoring on the journal. If it's rough, we're stuck.

crouch lower to get the flashlight closer to the metal surface as the sleeve slides off.

💭 peek at the thought

If the shaft is pitted, the new sleeve won't seat and it'll vibrate itself apart.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:20

Kevin — catch the sleeve as it releases, set it on the oarlock bracket to keep it clean, then run my fingernail hard along the prop shaft journal where the sleeve sat, feeling for any ridge or catch that'd indicate scoring deeper than surface pitti

💭 peek at the thought

Sleeve's coming free — if the journal's scored past 0.1mm depth, the spare sleeve won't seat true and we'll be running on hope until the supply boat. Jenny's got the light on it now; I need to feel it with my fingernail, see if it catches.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny09:21

It looks clean, but check the bore of the sleeve for hidden pitting.

wipe the grease off the shaft with a rag and hold the light steady against the metal.

💭 peek at the thought

It way smooth enough for now, but the salt is patient. It's waiting for us to stop looking.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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