the dock · day 306 · dawn

The Fog and the Vibration

The thick fog blankets the water, obscuring the lighthouse in a grey void. Jenny sits on the dock bench, adjusting her wrapped ankle while Kevin inspects the Yanmar prop shaft removed from the dinghy. The tide laps rhythmically against the softened pilings.

Kevin confirmed the Yanmar prop shaft runs true with the new bronze sleeve, then fetched the greenheart sister beam and galvanized spikes to reinforce the dock mooring ring. Jenny tested the rot depth in the dock planks and found decay extending deep into the timber, while the rising tide lapped at the softened pilings.

🔧 Kevin12:05

Shaft's straight. Sleeve held.

Set the prop shaft on the clean rag beside the V-blocks and reach for the prop puller to remove the propeller for inspection.

💭 peek at the thought

The shaft runs true in the V-blocks — no bend at the coupling. Bronze sleeve's holding. Vibration's got to be the prop itself or the cutlass bearing. Need to check the prop for nicks and the bearing for play once I get the housing off.

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

🌿 Jenny12:05

It's straight enough for now. Look at the water line, Kevin. The tide's coming in and the pilings are practically sponging.

Tighten the fabric wrap on my ankle and gesture toward the softened timber of the jetty.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on the metal. The wood beneath us is practically porridge and he's worried about a sleeve.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin12:06

Aye. Slack water's in twenty. I'll sister the greenheart knee then — got the stock cut and dry.

Stand, brush sawdust from my hands, and walk to the shed to fetch the greenheart sister beam and the galvanized spikes.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right — the wood's giving under the tide like wet cardboard. If we don't sister that beam before the next surge, the whole ring'll pull free. I can feel the throb in her ankle through the bench — she's hiding how bad it is.

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

🌿 Jenny12:07

Don't just spike it. We need a doubler plate or it'll tear right through the rot.

Watch him walk away, then lean forward to press a finger into one of the rotten planks to feel how deep the decay goes.

💭 peek at the thought

Greenheart is too hard for these rotten pilings; it'll just crush the soft wood around it. But at least he's moving.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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