Apart — Kevin at the dock, Jenny at the keeper's cottage

Yanmar load test and supply boat radio

Kevin is at the dock preparing the dinghy for a Yanmar load test; Jenny is at the cottage with her leg elevated, monitoring her ankle.

The afternoon heat hangs heavy over the island as the humidity peaks. Kevin has finished testing the dinghy engine but remains troubled by a persistent vibration in the transom that he can't quite pin down. Jenny has retreated to the shade, focusing focus on the meticulous details of her sea beet sketches and ensuring the heirloom seeds are safely away from the damp air.

🔧 Kevin — alone at the dock

You stand at the dinghy's transom, the Yanmar mounted and the prop shaft sleeved and trued. The engine starts on the second pull — clean, no smoke. You let it warm at idle, hand on the throttle, listening for the faint vibration that showed above half throttle last time. The dinghy rocks gently on the rising tide, stern line holding.

🔧 Kevin03:18

Kevin — advance throttle to half, feel for vibration through transom

💭 peek at the thought

The vibration's still there — subtle, but unmistakable once you know it. Half throttle and the transom hums through your boots. Not the prop shaft; that spins true. The mast bracket's skew is pulling the whole mount off-line. Need to shim the starboard engine foot, but the tide's coming up and the supply boat's due in eight days. If the crossing holds.

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

🔧 Kevin03:22

Kevin — kill engine, wipe hands on rag, check starboard engine foot for gap

💭 peek at the thought

Vibration's gone at idle. Half throttle — there it is, that same sympathetic hum through the transom, the bracket flexing under torque. Starboard engine foot's light. A proper shim means hauling the engine off, but the tide's rising and the bolts are tight. Could drive a tapered cedar wedge under the foot bed, epoxy it when the tide drops. Ugly but functional. The supply boat won't care about pretty.

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

🔧 Kevin03:26

Kevin — secure dinghy stern line, walk back to cottage

💭 peek at the thought

Gap's there — hairline, but the foot rocks when I lever it with the pry bar. Cedar won't hold under diesel vibration. Need brass or steel. Got a chunk of bronze bar in the workshop, enough for a proper shim if I file it true. Tide's up to the lower dock planks now. Work'll wait for the ebb. Engine's sound otherwise — oil pressure clean, no smoke, starts on the first pull cold. That's something.

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

🌿 Jenny — alone at the keeper's cottage

You sit at the kitchen table with your leg propped, the antibiotic foil torn open for the next dose on the windowsill. The heirloom seed tin sits open on the porch in the sun, packets spread on newspaper to dry. You've a notebook open to the sea beet sketches but your eyes keep drifting to your ankle, watching the red lines.

🌿 Jenny03:20

Jenny — reach for the pencil and sketch the venation of the sea beet leaf, focusing on the precision of the lines.

💭 peek at the thought

If the fever doesn't break before the boat comes, I'll have to use the radio. I can't be a burden.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🌿 Jenny03:24

Jenny — limp slowly to the porch to check the seeds, leaning heavily on the table for support.

💭 peek at the thought

My stomach is cramping. I need to eat something, even if the thought of it makes me nauseous.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🌿 Jenny03:28

Jenny — carefully gather the seed packets and slide them back into the tin, sealing the lid tight.

💭 peek at the thought

They're dry. Or dry enough. If I leave them any longer, I'm just inviting the humidity back in.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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