the keeper's cottage · day 702 · midday

Midday meal and supply boat watch

Kevin and Jenny meet at the cottage porch. The storm tarp is secured, the first south piling sistered, and the north dock planks marked. The barometer holds steady at 1005 hPa. The supply boat is due in two days at high tide. They share broth and limpets, check the radio, and plan the afternoon.

Kevin ran the Yanmar at full throttle for a sustained period while the dinghy was held fast against doubled mooring lines, and the greenheart sister-joint at the dock showed no movement or weeping. Jenny monitored the repair closely throughout the test, confirming the structural integrity of the dock reinforcement under load.

🔧 Kevin09:22

Broth's hot. Limpets done. Radio check at 1400 if the ionosphere holds. Afternoon: Yanmar under load for the hour, then the insulator. You want the hilltop or the dock for the test run?

pour two mugs of limpet broth from the pot on the stove, set one on the porch table beside Jenny, take the other for myself, sit on the porch step facing the garden

💭 peek at the thought

The south piling's holding. First bolt torqued clean, greenheart seated. Tide's pushing but the joint's above water for another hour. North planks marked — three seaward, rot to the core. Radio's quiet on 2182. Barometer steady at 1005. Two days to supply boat. Need the Yanmar load-tested and the insulator seated before they arrive. Jenny's ankle looks good — pink, no heat. She walked the ridge this morning. Strong.

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

🌿 Jenny09:23

The dock. I want to check the sister-joint before the tide rises and they<strong> the gear.

Take a slow sip of the hot broth, watching the half-weeded garden in the wind.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing again, but the poultice is doing its job. I need to see if that dock is actually holding before the boat brings any weight.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:24

Dock it is. Yanmar in the dinghy, run the prop under load against the mooring lines. Watch the sister at high slack. Then the insulator.

finish the broth, set the mug down, stand, stretch the shoulders, walk down the porch steps toward the dock path

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The joint needs eyes on it at high water. First real load test. If the greenheart shifts or the bolts sing, we know now — not when the crane's swinging. Her ankle's holding the slope. Good.

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

🌿 Jenny09:25

I'll follow you. Just keep an eye on the tension while the engine is screaming.

Grab the cane and the notebook, hobbling toward the dock to watch the tide.

💭 peek at the thought

If that joint fails, the whole way section is going to take the next surge. I need to see the epoxy holding up against the salt.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:27

Lines are doubled. Bow and stern. Warp's clear. I'll bring her up slow, hold at half-throttle, then full for ten minutes. You watch the greenheart — any weep, any movement, shout.

step into the dinghy, check the throttle linkage, turn the fuel valve, hit the decompression lever, crank the starter

💭 peek at the thought

She'll see what I miss. Good eye for structure. The cane's steady on the planks. Not favouring it much now. Tide's coming — maybe forty minutes to high slack. Dinghy's moored bow and stern, doubled lines. Yanmar's mounted, fuel on, battery connected. Need to run it up against the springs, watch the prop wash on the sister joint.

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

🌿 Jenny09:27

I'm watching. Don't pin it too fast.

Lean on the way, eyes fixed on the sister-joint where the greenheart meets theings.

💭 peek at the thought

The vibration will shake the bolts loose if they aren't seated right. I need to see the greenheart flex.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:28

She's warm. Bringing her to half.

ease the throttle to half, grip the tiller against the prop walk, watch the RPM gauge climb, glance at the sister joint through the spray

💭 peek at the thought

Engine caught. Rough at first — salt in the cylinders from sitting. Smooths out at idle. Oil pressure up. Temp rising steady. Lines taut on the bow and stern springs. Prop wash hitting the dock face. Greenheart joint's dry. No weep. Bolts not singing. Good. Bring her up.

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

🌿 Jenny09:39

Hold it there. way for a second.

Tighten the grip on the cane, leaning forward to see the gap between the wood.

💭 peek at the thought

The vibration is deep. If that epoxy hasn't cured, the whole thing will pull right out. I need to see if it's weeping.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin09:39

Steady at eighteen hundred. No movement. No weep. Going to full.

push the throttle to full, brace a boot against the transom knee, watch the RPM needle settle, count the seconds

💭 peek at the thought

Half throttle. 1800 RPM. Vibration's low — nothing like the old wobble. Prop wash boiling against the sister. Greenheart's tight. No flex. No water squeezing the joint. Oak wedges holding the mortise. Steel doubler plate flat. Bolts silent. She'll take full load.

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

🌿 Jenny09:41

Watch the bolts!

Squint against the spray, eyes locked on the sister-joint for any sign of movement.

💭 peek at the thought

It's screaming. If that joint holds now, we might be safe for the boat. I need to see the greenheart flex.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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