A cable length or length of cable is a nautical unit of measure equal to one tenth of a

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...

or approximately 100 fathoms. Owing to anachronisms and varying techniques of measurement, a cable length can be anywhere from , depending on the standard used.

Etymology and origin

The modern word ''cable'' is directly descended from the Middle English ''cable'', ''cabel'' or ''kabel'' and also occurs in Middle Dutch and Middle German. Ultimately the word comes from Romanic, probably from a cattle halter. A cable in this usage cable is a thick

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

or by transference a chain cable. The OED gives quotations from onwards. A cable's length (often "cable length" or just "cable") is simply the standard length in which cables came, which by 1555 had settled to around or . Traditionally rope is made on long ropewalks, the length of which determines the maximum length of rope it is possible to make. As rope is "closed" (the final stage in manufacture) the length reduces, thus the ropewalk at Chatham Dockyard is long in order to produce standard coils.

Definition

The definition varies: * International: 185.2 m, equivalent to

* UK traditional: , though ( The Admiralty) used of a sea mile, 1 minute of latitude locally. * US customary (

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

): In 2008 the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in a handbook defined it as

References

Citations

* . Als
"fathom"
from the same work (pp. 88–89, retrieved 12 January 2017). * Various subpages within the ropery section. * * . {{sailing-stub Nautical terminology Units of length Customary units of measurement in the United States