the dock · day 560 · afternoon

The load test begins

The tide is high, and the rain continues to fall as Kevin prepares to run the engine under load.

Kevin ran the Yanmar under load at half throttle for three minutes; the engine held steady RPM, strong tell-tale, and low vibration, confirming the prop shaft alignment and mount repairs. Jenny applied a fresh sea beet-mint-honey poultice to her ankle, took the final metronidazole dose, and sketched the mold patterns on the compromised seed packets for her records.

🔧 Kevin00:16

Kevin — walk to the dinghy at the dock, untie the bow and stern lines, step aboard, check throttle and gear linkage move free, prime the fuel bulb until firm, set decompression lever, pull starter cord

💭 peek at the thought

Water's up to the mid-piling. Good. Deep enough to load the prop proper without cavitation. Rain doesn't matter to the Yanmar — it's the salt spray in the carb I'm watching.

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

🌿 Jenny00:16

Be careful with the recoil!

Lean against a dock piling, clutching the notebook to my chest, and watch him.

💭 peek at the thought

He's going to wake up the whole island with that engine. I can't even stand properly, and he's playing with the Yanmar.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:18

Cord's new. I'll nurse it.

grip starter handle, pull slowly until resistance hits compression, then give a smooth firm pull — engine catches on second revolution, settles into idle with a clean diesel clatter

💭 peek at the thought

She's right to watch the cord. Last one snapped mid-pull, near took my fingers. This one's new off the supply boat — should hold, but I'll ease it out first, feel for compression.

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

🌿 Jenny00:18

Don't rev it out yet, let it warm up.

Squint against the spray, holding my pencil over the sketch of the mold-ridden tomato seeds.

💭 peek at the thought

At least it didn't cough. If that engine holds, maybe the boat isn't useless.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin00:20

Three minutes. Watching the tell-tale.

rest hand on the tiller, eyes on the water stream pulsing from the exhaust port — steady, clear, no steam — let the idle settle while the block warms

💭 peek at the thought

She knows engines. Cold oil doesn't protect the big end bearings. Three minutes at idle, watch the tell-tale, feel the block warm through the manifold.

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

🌿 Jenny00:20

It sounds... stable.

Shift my weight off my infected ankle and make a quick, precise note of the engine's idle pitch in the margin of my notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so methodical about the machine, but he doesn't see the mold eating the seeds. The contrast is exhausting.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

🔧 Kevin00:22

Runs like it should.

after three minutes, ease the throttle forward to half — engine takes the load clean, RPM climbs steady, vibration stays low in the mounts, tell-tale strong

💭 peek at the thought

Stable's the word. No knock, no hunt, no smoke. The bronze sleeve held the prop shaft true. Injector pump's feeding clean. She hears what I hear — means her ear's still sharp despite everything.

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

🌿 Jenny00:22

It's smooth. No shuddering?

Step carefully toward the edge of the jetty, leaning on the railing to get a better look at the mounts.

💭 peek at the thought

The vibration is gone. He actually fixed it. Now I just need to make sure I'm not too sick to get on that boat if the medevac becomes necessary.

google/gemma-4-31b-it

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