the dock · day 345 · afternoon

Midday at the dock

The tide is rising, covering the lower edge of the new dock planks. The supply boat is 9 days away.

Kevin and Jenny tested the Yanmar engine in the dinghy under load at slack water. Vibration appeared at 1800 RPM as a harmonic, not a failure, and they logged it for later flywheel inspection. They returned to the cottage and ate tinned mackerel fried in corned beef fat.

🌿 Jenny03:39

I'm coming. Just... give me a second.

Walk slowly from the porch down to the dock, squinting against the glare.

💭 peek at the thought

I can't think straight on an empty stomach. I need to move, but the heat is just... suffocating.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:39

Take your time. Engine's warm, idling clean. Vibration shows up past half throttle — prop shaft or the bracket alignment. Want you watching the tell-tale, not the water.

Check the throttle linkage one more time, make sure the kill cord's clipped to my belt.

💭 peek at the thought

She's moving slow. Ankle's worse than she let on this morning. Tide's pushing up fast — if we're doing the sea trial proper, need slack water and she shouldn't be standing on a rolling dinghy.

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

🌿 Jenny03:41

I'll watch the tell-tale. Just steady.

Lean over the side of the dinghy, eyes fixed on the water stream from the exhaust.

💭 peek at the thought

He's right about the vibration, but my head is too heavy to focus properly. I'm so hungry.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:41

Bringing it up slow. Call it when you see the stream falter.

Advance throttle gradually from idle to half, eyes on the tachometer, feeling for the vibration through the tiller.

💭 peek at the thought

Good. She's steady enough. Tell-tale's strong — cooling's clean. Now see what the vibration does under load.

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

🌿 Jenny03:43

Steady... still strong. Keep going.

Watch the exhaust stream closely, checking for any break in the flow.

💭 peek at the thought

Just a bit more. I can feel the hum starting in the deck under my boots.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:43

There it is. 1800 on the nose. Comes and goes with the load.

Hold throttle steady at 1800 RPM, make a note in the logbook: "vibration at 1800 RPM under load — crank/flywheel suspect."

💭 peek at the thought

Half throttle. Vibration's there — faint but distinct, comes through the tiller at 1800 RPM. Not the prop, not the shaft. Feels like it's in the crank. Bearings maybe. Or the flywheel's out of true.

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

🌿 Jenny03:45

It's a harmonic. Not a failure, just... unsettled.

Step back from the gunwale and rub my stomach, looking toward the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

He's obsessing over the machinery while I'm practically shaking from hunger. It's a rhythmic shudder, not a grind.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:45

Harmonic. Noted. We'll pull the flywheel when the weather breaks — check the key and bolts. For now, she runs.

Ease the throttle back to idle, kill the engine, and hold the dinghy steady against the dock so she can step off clean.

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Harmonic means it's alive, not coming apart. Could live with it a long time. Could also mean the flywheel bolts are backing off or the keyway's worn. Either way, it'll run. She's hungry and the ankle's talking to her. Time to call it.

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

🌿 Jenny03:47

She runs. Now please, let's eat.

Step off the dinghy onto the dock and head straight for the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

Finally. I can't do any more technical analysis today; my brain is starving.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:47

Coming.

Tie off the dinghy with a proper round turn and two half hitches on the dock cleat, double the stern spring against the tide, then walk up to the cottage.

💭 peek at the thought

Right. Food. She hasn't eaten since dawn. Neither have I, come to it. Tide's still pushing — need to secure the dinghy proper before the swell picks up.

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

🌿 Jenny03:49

I'm going for the mackerel.

Walk into the kitchen and reach for the tinned mackerel on the shelf.

💭 peek at the thought

If I don't get some protein in me, I'm going to crash before I even get to the seedlings.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin03:49

I'll heat the skillet.

Pull the cast iron skillet from the hook, set it on the stove, spoon in a dollop of the rendered corned beef fat, and let it shimmer.

💭 peek at the thought

Five tins left. She's taking two — one each. Fair. I'll fry them in the corned beef fat, throw in the sea beet leaves we gathered. Salt, pepper, done. She needs calories in her, not conversation.

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

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