Now that tennis season is finished, I decided to write my journal about the physics involved in paddling, the sport I am doing now. In a race, the speed of the canoe is all important to winning. According to Newton's second law of motion, the acceleration of an object is equal to the net force acting on it divided by its mass. In the case of paddling, the net force on the canoe equals the sum force of everyone's paddle against the water minus air/water resistance. To increase the net force on the canoe, the paddler should be as strong as possible to exert more force on the water, but not too heavy, for as the paddler's mass increases, the boat' acceleration decreases.
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