Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

How jumping up and down in a canoe propels it forwards

A watercraft subject to ‘gunwale bobbing’ travels on waves generated by the bobbing itself.
A boy gunwale bobbing on a paddleboard creating large ripples on the surface of a lake

Both a canoe and a paddleboard (pictured) can glide over a lake if the user jumps up and down in just the right rhythm. Credit: Jerome Neufeld

Jumping up and down on a canoe or paddle board can propel it forwards — and researchers have figured out how1.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 608, 242 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02097-w

References

  1. Benham, G. P., Devauchelle, O., Morris, S. W. & Neufeld, J. A. Phys. Rev. Fluids. 7, 074804 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links