"The path of least resistance is the path of the loser. "
-H.G. Wells

What’s pushing against my boat?

Two major resistance factors keeping the vessel from sailing swiftly are the
hull’s drag force and turbulence.

The drag force is created by the resistance to the hull's motion through water,
“As the boat moves it shears the water” (Anderson 39).  This shearing has to do
with reactions between the water molecules adhering themselves to the hull and
the majority of the molecules near the boat. These reactions create a resistance
 force that increases as the boat speeds up.

Turbulence from the water is produced when water zipping past the keel moves
 more upward on one side and downward on the other; this creates a swirling vortex
 at the bottom of the keel that initiates the turbulence that sailors witness on deck.