Cable length

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

A cable length or length of cable is a nautical unit of measure equal to one tenth of a nautical mile or approximately 100 fathoms. Due to anachronisms and varying techniques of measurement, a cable length can be anywhere from 169 to 220 metres, depending on the standard used. The unit is named after the length of a ship's anchor cable in the Age of Sail.

The definition varies:

• International: 185.2 m, equivalent to 1⁄10 nautical mile
• Imperial (Admiralty): 185.32 m, or 1⁄10 nautical mile, about 101 fathoms
  • The traditional British fathom varied from 5+1⁄2 to 7 feet (1.7 to 2.1 metres) in the Merchant Navy, making the "historical" cable 169 m to 215.5 m.
• U.S. customary (US Navy): 219.5 metres, 120 fathoms (720 feet)

See also[]

• Conversion of units

References[]

• Fenna, Donald (2002), "cable, cable length, cable's length", A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 35, ISBN 0-19-860522-6, OCLC 62608533, retrieved 12 January 2017. Also "fathom", from the same work (pp. 88–89, retrieved 12 January 2017).
• Navy Slang: Cable – Curry, Royal Navy, 2007, archived from the original on 2008-07-07, retrieved 1 February 2011.

This sailing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

• v
• t