You may save money with your paddling machine, but I would venture a guess that it feels no where as great as my new Vasa Kayak ergometer! In the end, quality costs less.
Rich Hayes
: I have now managed to pull together all the materials I need to build that
: home-made paddling machine I spoke about some months ago. I believe it was
: Hans Freidel who revealed to me that it is a similar machine to what the
: Finnish olympians use to train on. Are you listening, Paul, I'm thinking
: at an olympic level; does that worry you now? Hey, don't worry, Judy (the
: wife and fambly critic and justifier) called me "old gerbil
: cheeks" today after I suggested that you would be seriously worried
: about my new exercise regimen. She said I had a lot of work to do to get
: rid of my pouchy rodent face. That was a burn but I kept my confidence in
: tact by imagining how buff I would look by April. 
: The materials for this machine are as follows: hooks, to screw into the wall
: studs of my garage; rope, (not sure about mm's) to connect a paddle loom
: (have to make one) to weights; metal pulleys with 12"'s of steel
: cable/collars attached, (metal bushing, no bearings although bearings
: would be better); milk jugs, to hold water (which will be ice in this part
: of the north) into which can be added increasing weights of water as my
: abdominals are slowly transformed to Adonnis-like strength and appearance;
: an old rowing machine that will substitute as a kayak seat and footpegs
: (close approximation, I got the thing for free so I will use it).
: The hooks will be screwed into the wall studs; the looped steel cable with
: pulleys attached inserted onto the hooks; two lengths of rope - one piece
: threaded through each pulley using enough length of rope so that paddling
: motion can be simulated without the jugs hitting the floor while allowing
: for a full stroke motion; rope tied to milk jug handles and loom - one
: weight to each end of the loom; rowing machine seat bolted into place
: appropriate for my leg length and footbraces positioned to approximate
: footpeg position in my TK-1 racing kayak, the Raven.
: I should have this machine installed in my garage by tomorrow, once done I'll
: post a few images of the setup with me paddling it to demonstrate how it
: is used. I will not be doing this demonstration topless - makes no sense
: for me to cause riotous laughter replete with knowing finger pointing even
: if I can't hear it. My 5 1/2th sense might pick up the vibes and cause me
: uncertain consternation
: Robert N Pruden
