Sinking in a silicone tail ???

[AniaR]

Funny thing, personally, I float like a cork, but in my tail, my fluke seems to want to rise up and there's a polycarbonate fin inside! I still can't figure it out.

I find this happens with ALL my merbellas tails except the blue one with the competitor monofin. I end up needing weights around my ankles to keep it down

In the aircraft world, we talk about "nose heavy" and "tail heavy". Here I guess we need to add "nose light " and "tail light" to properly describe how a swimmer wearing a tail floats or sinks.

That totally makes sense!

[PearlieMae]

Could there be some trapped bubbles that did not come out, mostly concentrated near, or in, the fluke?

In the aircraft world, we talk about "nose heavy" and "tail heavy". Here I guess we need to add "nose light " and "tail light" to properly describe how a swimmer wearing a tail floats or sinks.

Ha! No more than the rest of the tail, really. Doesn't bother me...I just swim harder.

[Mermaid Whisper]

I don’t swim much and I don’t think I’ll do silicone, but the physics of it are fascinating to learn about!


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[Khaleesi Daenerys]

I find this happens with ALL my merbellas tails except the blue one with the competitor monofin. I end up needing weights around my ankles to keep it down



That totally makes sense![/COLOR]

How are you applying the weights without damaging the tail? I thought the pressure would leave marks or cause some tearing. I thought maybe neoprene between the tail and belt might help (I know the belts can come in neoprene too.)

[AniaR]

like I said I am going to create a thread after I've consulted with pros I don't wanna endorse something I did before that I now feel may be unsafe (since I've had new training)

[Khaleesi Daenerys]

Yeah I understand that I swim with a buddy he's been doing freediving for years I believe he's a certified instructor though I don't know for sure I might be remembering wrong. I just wanted to know how to not damage the waist of my tail if I end up needing to use a weight belt with it. But I can wait for your post I'm not in any hurry.

[AniaR]

yeah for my I avoided by putting in tails. But my instructors are going to teach me how to make neck weights and customize them for mermaids. once I've done the workshop I'll do a video on it. Maybe ask your buddy about it!

[Khaleesi Daenerys]

Cool thanks I'll ask him about it.

[LouLouBelle]

I’ve found this thread really interesting.

All my silicone tails are made with platsil gel 10 and they sink. Now they’re not massively negatively buoyant, but they are definitely negative.

When I take a tail off in the water, it sinks. I’ve done this with all of them and they’re all the same. One has a foil, one has a hydra/sweam, and the other is monofinless.

Without a tail, my legs tend to sink but my head is REALLY floaty. With a tail, my legs definitely sink even easier.

It would be really interesting to compare tails made from different silicones. I’ve noticed that if I weigh out 100 grams of silicone it doesn’t reach the 100ml mark on the measuring jug. (1g of water = 1ml) so that suggests it’s denser and heavier than water. Anyone ever tried this with dragon skin?


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[Mermaid_Kai]

Silicone has a specific gravity of 1.07. Water has a specific gravity of 1.00. The difference is 0.07. What that means is a tail will weigh, underwater, 0.07 / 1.07 = 6.5% of what it weighs out of the water. A 30 pound tail will only weigh you down by 2 pounds once you are under water. Most people are naturally buoyant by more than that, so even with a tail you should float.

Many mers who want to swim comfortably under water will use weights. I have a set of bracelets I wear to make myself less buoyant. Others cast solder into shells, and make them into a weight belt.

I LOVE that you did all the calculations for this! Super awesome! i also love the idea of wearing weights to become less buoyant.. totally trying this when i receive my silicone as i am extremely buoyant myself

[Merman Storm]

When looking for ballast weights: Remember to loot the wreck of one of those pesky pirate ships after you sink it. They tend to carry all sorts of shiny things, some of which make great ballast.

[Mermaid Kane]

When looking for ballast weights: Remember to loot the wreck of one of those pesky pirate ships after you sink it. They tend to carry all sorts of shiny things, some of which make great ballast.

LMAO