Apart — Kevin at the dock, Jenny at the woods

Midday Check-in

Kevin is at the dock and Jenny is in the woods.

Kevin ran the Yanmar at half throttle for twenty minutes and confirmed the vibration fix holds; the engine ran smooth with no cavitation in the prop wash. He then secured the dinghy and retrieved the mallet and longer through-bolts to address the loose mooring ring. Jenny harvested medicinal leaves in the woods and returned to the cottage porch to tend her ankle.

🔧 Kevin — alone at the dock

You stand by the gunwale, checking the tie-downs one last time. The water is still and the air remains heavy.

🔧 Kevin22:50

Kevin — start the Yanmar, let it warm at idle, then bring it up to half throttle and hold for twenty minutes, watching the prop shaft and feeling for vibration through the transom

💭 peek at the thought

The shackle held at high water. No movement in the ring. The doubler plate and wedges are doing their job. Now the Yanmar — need to run it under load proper, see if the vibration's still there above half throttle.

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

🔧 Kevin22:54

Kevin — advance throttle to half, lock it there, brace against the gunwale and feel for vibration through the transom and tiller, watching the prop wash for cavitation, counting seconds on the watch

💭 peek at the thought

Engine's running clean at idle. No smoke, no knock. Time to load it up and see if the sleeve and trueing held.

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

🔧 Kevin22:59

Kevin — cut throttle, let engine idle down, then kill it. Secure the dinghy to the dock with a stern line and forward spring. Grab the mallet and longer through-bolts from the workshop.

💭 peek at the thought

Vibration's still there — not bad, but present. A harmonic shudder above 1800 RPM. Prop shaft's true, sleeve's seated. Mast bracket's the suspect. It's flexing under load, transferring shake into the hull. Need to stiffen it.

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

🌿 Jenny — alone at the woods

You lean against a mossy trunk to catch your breath. The scent of damp earth and rotting spruce fills the air.

🌿 Jenny22:49

Jenny — slowly crouch down to identify and harvest the medicinal leaves.

💭 peek at the thought

God, I'm exhausted. Just a few more leaves and I can go back. I can't let Kevin see me shaking.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🌿 Jenny22:53

Jenny — stand up slowly and limp back toward the cottage, clutching the leaves.

💭 peek at the thought

That's enough. My ankle is throbbing in time with my heart. I need to get these back to the cottage before the rain picks up again.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🌿 Jenny22:57

Jenny — limp out of the woods and toward the cottage porch.

💭 peek at the thought

I can see the roof through the trees. Just a few more yards. Don't trip, for the love of god, do not trip.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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