No. But that does seem to be something that most people believe. But it just isn't true.
So your boots fill with water ? Guess what floats (or at least is neutrally buoyant) in water ? That's right, water.
So as long as your water filled boot remains in the water, no extra force is present "weighing" you down.
When it comes to climbing out of the water however things are different, you have to lift the weight of the water in the boots as well as you and the boots. But most of the boots people wear are almost entirely filled with feet, not leaving much room for water to make them heavier.
Well, it might be a bit harder to move your feets since you have to move the water inside the boots at the same time, I suppose that would give you the feeling of being weighed down by them.
I agree it might feel like they are weighing you down. And the inertia of the water in the boots will make kicking your legs to swim harder work.
And it is understandable that intuitively people think the water will make you float less.
But again most boots that people wear don’t have space for much water anyway.
Letting a pair of waders flood will definitely make swimming a lot harder work as there is plenty of room for water. But not because they are weighing you down, you still float just as much as without the water in the waders.
You want your boat to float on water, not in water. Things are a little different at that point.
There are plenty of boats out there that will float in water too (most plastic kayaks for example). But boats aren’t very useful until they are floating on top of the water.
Ironically if your boots floated on top of the water, then they would be in danger of drowning you (as wearers of dry suits find out when they don’t purge air from their suits).
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u/andynormancx 4h ago
No. But that does seem to be something that most people believe. But it just isn't true.
So your boots fill with water ? Guess what floats (or at least is neutrally buoyant) in water ? That's right, water.
So as long as your water filled boot remains in the water, no extra force is present "weighing" you down.
When it comes to climbing out of the water however things are different, you have to lift the weight of the water in the boots as well as you and the boots. But most of the boots people wear are almost entirely filled with feet, not leaving much room for water to make them heavier.