Find yourself an old rowing machine, the kind with the seat that slides, has foot rests and uses the cheap shock absorbers to regulate force. Cut a 4x4 post so that it matches the length of the rowing machine, longer if you want. Take the rowing machine arm assembly off of the machine so that you are left with only the seat, foot rests and the main beam everything is attached to. Bolt the 4x4 post to the bottom of the beam of the rowing machine. There should be holes to use for this move. You can make the seat stationary or leave it to move as you do your paddling practice. Next, get that piece of 2x2 and shape it into a paddle handle. It needs to be only as long as your hand holds would be on a paddle plus a few extra inches to accomodate the rope that you will tie to the ends. Shape the loom so that the hand holds are comfortable. You could use a paddle shaft without the blades if you have something like that around, or a dowel of sufficient length and circumference. Now you need two sections of rope. Tie one end of each section to the ends of the paddle shaft you created. Now you need two pulleys. They should be able to handle the diameter of the rope and should be of good quality so that the pulley wheel turns easily and without too much noise. The pulleys should be attached to the wall in front of your paddling machine at a height no lower than 4 feet. The other end of the ropes that have been securely tied to each end of the paddle shaft should be run through the pulleys so that the rope ends go down toward the floor. This is where the ends will be tied to the paint cans which have been weighted to simulate the pressure a paddler feels when paddling in varying types of water. You will have to sit on the machine and paddle to get the length of the rope just right so that the paint cans do not hit the floor as you paddle. The easiest way to do this is simply to move the machine closer or further from the wall. The purpose of the 4x4 post is to simulate the inherent instability of a kayak so that you have to balance yourself as you would when on real water. You can round the edges of the post to create more instability as desired. I used my old machine often, it worked very well and did keep me in shape for the World Master's Games, even though in the picture I posted I did appear to be a few months pregnanat.

Hope this helps.

Robert N Pruden