There are a wide variety of ways and means to make a vehicle move through the water. As with most other forms of propulsion, you will start by determining the amount of motive thrust you will want for a given speed. Bear in mind that speeds over about 60 kilometers per hour will usually require a specialized hull, hydroplanes, or an abundance of horsepower.

To determine the thrust that you will need, start by calculating the Drag of your vehicle. Multiply your vehicle's Area value by the Streamlining Factor from the table below.

Now that you've got the drag, you can calculate your thrust based on your desired speed. Start by finding the cube of your speed, in kilometers per hour. (Multiply your speed by itself, then multiply that product by your speed again.) Divide this value by 600, then multiply by your Drag. The resulting value will be the Newtons of thrust you need to attain that speed.

Not the most powerful, nor the most reliable, of propulsion systems, a decent pair of arms on a paddle or two can be surprisingly powerful. Each set of oars produces 50 Newtons of thrust. However, that assumes that the paddles are on oarlocks, and the rower can use both arms to full potential. If the rower is using a paddle, rather than a set of oars, they only generate 25 Newtons of thrust. This includes those using a double-ended paddle, as they can only use one blade of the paddle at a time.

Each rowing station occupies one cubic meter and weighs five kilograms. Of course, the person filling that space must be considered as well; a human being is considered to weigh 100 kilograms and to occupy one cubic meter.

Low-cost, low-tech, powerful and efficient, sails were the principal means of propulsion for water vessels for most of human history, and are still used for recreational purposes. However, one cannot simply slap sails on a ship without limit!