A tool for the prediction of the performance of olympic rowing boats is presented and discussed. The equations of motion include the full dynamics of the boat, oars and oarsmen and are obtained by modelling the rowers motion, oar forces and fluid-structure intercation forces. The proposed algorithm is implemented in a C++ code which has proved to produce consistent results for any crew configuration tested. The algorithm presented here has proved to be robust and to produce physically correct results for any crew configuration tested. It is currently used to assess the effects of different geometries, rowing style and rower position on the boat. Still, improvements are necessary in several areas. In particular, the estimation of the oar forces and the inertia forces due to the rowers m ovement can benefit by analyzing experimental data coming from accelerometers and dynamometers placed on rowing boats, as well as telemetry devices. Besides, the interfacing of the dynamical system for the boat motion with a different fluid-dynamic model based on the solution of Navier-Stokes equations with free surface, is ongoing. It will help to further validate the model. The authors would like to acknowledge the support by Filippi Lido s.r.l., a rowing boat manufacturer, and in particular Ing. Alessandro Placido for the endless encouragements and suggestions. Thanks are also due to Antonio Montano for his help with the computer implementation and software engineering.
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