The more fluid a floating object is able to displace, the greater the load it is able to bear. As a result, the ultimate payoff of flexibility is in determining whether or not a bent configuration results in an increased volume of displaced water. As a flexible object bends, it penetrates further into the water and increases the total fluid displaced above it. However, this bending action necessarily forces the cross-section at the water line to decrease, narrowing the column of displaced water above the object. Thus, whether or not bending is advantageous is ultimately given by a tradeoff of these factors.