will i sink?

[Mermaid Bella]

im in the middle of making my first tail, i have a homemade monofin and the fabric i am using is an elastine polyester blend, its stretchy and it feels like neoprene without the gas, gel... stuff inside.

i have heard a few peoples first swim stories and a few people say how they sank like a stone and in one case someone almost drowned and had to be rescued, is that because of the material or there being no monofin or...?

i really dont want to get to the pool and flounder and have to eject myself from my new tail. its going to be hard enough going to a public pool that is notorious for the lifeguards making fun of the swimmers... in a massive pink tail.

*sigh*

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Have you had any experience swimming in your monofin? If you can swim with only the monofin on, then you should be just fine in a fabric tail. However, I wouldn't put on the tail unless you know you can swim in just the fin (for safety's sake).

[Blondie]

Personally, my first swim was no big deal. The only thing was I wasn't used to swimming so fast I bumped into the wall. (But no one noticed!)

It depends on how well you swim normally. If you're an a weak-average swimmer and normally get around by dog paddling and can't swim for very long before putting your feet down. You MIGHT have a problem.

But if you're like me and you've been swimming most of your life just normally. You'll be just fine. The fabric you have doesn't sound like it'll be SO heavy in the water. Remember, almost everything is weightless underwater (Okay not really but if silicone tails are known to be weightless underwater, fabric will be nothing)

Personally I think you'll be okay. When you first get in stick close to the stairs and be the judge. If worse comes to worse, don't panic, and just reach for the pole or steps to pull yourself out.

[Kanti]

Is your monofin made out of rocks? xD
If not I doubt you'll sink. I think the reason people say that is because when you make a tail out
of materials that aren't really meant for water use, they tend to absort a lot of water and drag you
down a bit. I knew someone who made a tail out of random jersey knit fabric and she told me a story
similar to that xD

I think the challenge with a monofin is more in the control of swimming. You have to take your turns
a lot slower and actually tilt your whole body into most things. Aside from that, you should be fine :'P