Brian Nystrom says:

Soaking didn't seem to make any difference in the bend-ability of
the wood.

The old man always used to soak white oak before bending (24 hrs in the
bathtub), whether to see if it had a natural inclination to bend in a
particular direction, to help with bending, or some other reason I am not sure.
He was the builder, and I didn't question it.
He bent a lot of white oak ribs in his day.

Steve