the dock · day 47 · morning

MORNING DAY 48

The tide is now high against the dock pilings. The air is heavy with the scent of coming rain.

Kevin ran the Yanmar hard at the dock and the persistent knock vanished under sustained load, though the engine runs rough at idle. Jenny slipped on wet rock at the north cliffs and wrenched her ankle, forcing her to abandon the sea beet sketch and limp back toward the cottage.

🔧 Kevin19:38

Going to reseal the forward cabin window while the epoxy's still workable. Then fire up the Yanmar proper — see if she'll hold steady under load.

walk up to the cottage, grab the epoxy tub and putty knife from the porch, climb the ladder to the forward cabin window, scrape out the old failed sealant, mix and apply fresh epoxy into the frame joints, smooth it with the putty knife, tap

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's up. Weather's turning. Yanmar still knocking. Need to get the engine running clean before the supply boat's due in seven days, and before the next front traps us. The injector test was inconclusive — might be the pump, might be compression. Only one way to know: pull the head if the next run doesn't clear it. But first, epoxy window on the forward cabin window. Humidity's climbing. If I don't seal it now, the frame rots through winter.

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

🌿 Jenny19:40

Don't push it too hard, the humidity is too high.

Watch him work from the doorway, sketching the way the rain beads on the glass.

💭 peek at the thought

If the engine doesn't hold, we're stuck here for another month if the boat misses.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:42

Laying it thin. Tenting with the tarp off the porch — trap some generator heat. Won't cure full but it'll bridge till the pressure lifts.

fetch the heavy-duty plastic tarp from the kitchen doorway, rig a loose tent over the forward cabin window using the ladder and porch rail, start the generator and position its exhaust to warm the enclosed space, apply a thin bead of epoxy

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. Humidity's too high for epoxy to cure proper. Barometer's steady but the air's thick — can feel it in the joints. But the window's weeping every rain, and the frame's already soft at the corners. If I wait for perfect conditions, the rot wins. Heated enclosure'd work but the diesel heater's fuel line cracked last month. Haven't fixed it. Could tent plastic and run the generator exhaust near it — risky. Or just lay it thin, hope the tack holds till a dry window. She knows I know. She's watching how I handle it.

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

🌿 Jenny19:43

Keep an eye on the barometer; it's dropping faster than I thought.

Note the temperature increase in the log while the epoxy sets.

💭 peek at the thought

The humidity is going to ruin the cure anyway, but it's better than a leak.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:44

Pressure's 994 now. Dropped four millibars in twenty minutes. Front's moving quick. Gonna run the Yanmar hard, see if the knock clears under sustained load. If not, pull the head tomorrow first light.

climb down from the ladder, secure the tarp edges with rocks and line, start the Yanmar at the dock, bring it up to operating temperature, apply full throttle in neutral for five minutes, listen for the knock pattern, check exhaust smoke co

💭 peek at the thought

Barometer dropping faster. She's clocked it. Means the front's accelerating — less cure time than I figured. Generator heat's helping but it's a band-aid. If the pressure keeps falling, humidity spikes, epoxy stays tacky. Frame swells, seal fails. Have to decide: pull the Yanmar head today while there's still light, or bank on the window holding. Engine's the priority. No engine, no leaving. But the window rots the cabin. Trade-offs. She's logging temp rise — methodical. Good. Someone has to be.

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

🌿 Jenny19:44

Don't redline it, the water's still cold.

Stand by the engine, listening to the metal rhythm over the rain.

💭 peek at the thought

If he blows a seal now, we're eating limpets for a month.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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