the keeper's cottage · day 305 · dawn

The Salt-Spray Inspection

Kevin and Jenny sit on the porch benches as the trade wind picks up against the corrugated roof. Jenny inspects the swelling on her ankle while Kevin examines the Yanmar prop shaft on the workbench.

Kevin heads to the dock as the tide begins to swell, the wood pilings groaning under the shifting weight. He secures the dinghy and prepares to test the engine, seeking to find the source of the persistent vibration, while Jenny remains at the cottage, watching the wind pick up and tending to the sharp, throbbing swelling in her ankle.

🌿 Jenny11:15

The wind is shifting. We should probably check the mooring lines before the tide peaks.

Gently press the swollen skin of her ankle, testing the tension of the brace.

💭 peek at the thought

He's still staring at that shaft. If he doesn't look up soon, I'm going to start sketching the way the rust is eating the dock pilings right in front of him.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:15

Tide's an hour off peak. I'll walk the dock now, check the stern spring and the bow cleat. You stay off that foot.

walk down to the dock, inspect the stern spring line tension and the bow cleat, test the mooring ring for movement in the mortise, look for chafe at the fairleads

💭 peek at the thought

She's right about the lines — wind's swinging west and the tide's still flooding. The ring held last cycle but the mortise is chewed. I'll check the stern spring first, then the bow. The prop shaft's on the bench, sleeve pressed, spins true by hand. Vibration only shows under load. Need to run it at the dock to be sure. Her ankle's hotter than yesterday. Red streaks tracking up the calf. She iced it, said it's better. It's not. Antibiotics are down to two doses. If the fever hits tonight, we decide then.

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

🌿 Jenny11:16

Jenny — lean back against the whitewashed wall and watch him walk away, her gaze fixed on the sagging line of the dock pilings.

💭 peek at the thought

He's going to see it. Or he'll ignore it. He always ignores the things that aren't made of steel.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:16

Ring's loose in the mortise, doubler plate's tearing the wood. Spring line's taking the load and it's frayed. I'll sister a new knee tomorrow with greenheart. For now, I'll run the dinghy at the mooring to test the vibration — see if it's the prop or the strut.

walk to the dinghy, untie the stern spring, cast off the bow line, climb aboard and start the engine, advance to half throttle then three-quarter, listen for vibration through the hull and prop shaft, note RPM where it starts and how it fee

💭 peek at the thought

The dock's worse than I thought. Pilings are listing east, the ring's mortise is wallowed out, and the doubler plate's bolts are pulling through the rotten timber. That ring won't hold a blow from the southwest. The spring line's taking the load now — it's frayed where it passes the chock. I'll need to sister a new knee under the ring and bolt through solid heartwood. Not today. Today I just verify the risk. The prop shaft on the bench — sleeve seated, nut torqued, spins true. If the vibration's still there under load, it's not the shaft. Could be the prop itself — bent blade, or the strut alignment. Jenny's watching me go. She didn't say anything about the streaks. She's waiting to see if I notice.

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

🌿 Jenny11:18

Don't push it too hard! The pilings are softer than you think!

Stand up slowly, leaning heavily on the porch railing to keep the weight off her ankle, and watch the dinghy's wake.

💭 peek at the thought

He's testing the vibration while the structural support is failing. Typical. He's so focused on the symptom that he's ignoring the disease.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:18

Short run, half to three-quarter. I'll feel it through the tiller. If it's bad, I'll kill it.

advance the throttle smoothly to 1500 RPM, hold, note any vibration, then increase to 2200 RPM, hold, feel for shake in the hull and tiller, watch the prop wake for disturbance, listen for change in tone, then reduce to idle and shift to ne

💭 peek at the thought

She's right to worry — the pilings are eating the bolts. If the ring tears out now, we lose the dinghy and the mooring's gone till the supply boat. But I need to know if it's the prop or the strut causing the shake. I'll keep it below 2500 RPM, short run, watch the wake for cavitation. Her ankle — she's standing on it now, leaning on the railing. The skin's tight and shiny. Red's crept past the ankle bone. She's not complaining. She's waiting for me to come back so she doesn't have to say it's worse. If I don't see the streaks, I can pretend I didn't. But I saw them yesterday. I saw them when she peeled the seed packets. I'm choosing not to see them again.

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

🌿 Jenny11:20

Jenny — reach for her sketchbook on the bench and begin a quick, sharp study of the dock's angle against the horizon.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so meticulous about the RPMs. I wonder if he knows that the very ground he's tying that boat to is turning into mush.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin11:20

Buzz in the tiller at 2200, like the prop's out of balance. I'll pull it when we're back and check the blades for nicks or weed. Stay on the porch — don't put weight on it.

shift to neutral, cut the engine, let the dinghy drift to the mooring, tie off the bow line first then secure the stern spring, climb out and walk back up the path to the cottage, stop at the garden gate to look at Jenny on the porch bench,

💭 peek at the thought

She's sketching the dock's lean — not the birds, not the plants. The angle's worsening. At this rate, the ring'll tear out before the supply boat. I need to sister that knee today, not tomorrow. The vibration at 2200 RPM — it's a buzz in the tiller, not a knock. Feels like the prop's unbalanced, not a bent shaft. Could be a nicked blade or debris wrapped on the hub. I'll pull it when we get back. Her ankle — she's not looking at me. She's focused on the page, lines sharp and fast. She's measuring the tilt, calculating when it fails. She doesn't need me to tell her it's bad. She needs me to fix it. But I can't fix the pilings without greenheart and epoxy, and I can't fix her ankle without the antibiotics working. Two doses left.

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

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