Rowing propulsion

Rowing is a cyclic or intermittent form of propulsion such that in the quasisteady state the motion of the system the system comprising the rower, the oars, and the boat, is repeated regularly. In order to maintain the steadystate propulsion of the system without either accelerating or decelerating the system, the sum of all the external forces on the system, averaged over the cycle, must be zero. Thus, the average drag retarding force on the system must equal the average propulsion force on the system. The drag forces consist of aerodynamic drag on the superstructure of the system components of the boat situated above the waterline, as well as the hydrodynamic drag on the submerged portion of the system. The propulsion forces are the forward reaction of the water on the oars while in the water. Note also that the oar can be used to provide a drag force a force acting against the forward motion when the system is brought to rest.Although the oar can be conveniently thought of as a lever with a fixed pivot point in the water, the blade moves sideways and sternwards through the water, so that the magnitude of the propulsion force developed is the result of a complex interaction between unsteady fluid mechanics the water flow around the blade and solid mechanics and dynamics the handle force applied to the oar, the oars inertia and bending characteristic, the acceleration of the boat and so on.