This article summarizes the major part of the research project SOKA ”Simulation et Optimisation de canoës-KAyaks”, in collaboration with INRIA Sophia-Antipolis and the French Canoe Federation, founded by INSEP (the French National Institute of Sport and Physical Education) and the French ministry ”Ministère de la Ville de la Jeunesse et des Sports”. The main goal was to develop a procedure which includes experimenal measurements and advanced numerical simulation of the flow around the hull to deduce an analytical model of the global loads of the kayaker on his hull. This model was thus used to ad- dress and test an optimisation procedure based on unsteady CFD simulations with solved motions and analyse the influence of some parameters on the forward velocity of the hull.