Cable length

Template:Short description Template:Infobox unit 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. 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.Template:Sfn A cable in this usage cable is a thick rope or by transference a chain cable.Template:Sfn The OED gives quotations from c. Template:Trim 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 .Template:Sfn

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.Template:Sfn

Definition

The definition varies:

• International: 185.2 m, equivalent to 1⁄10 nautical mile
• UK traditional: , though the Admiralty used 1⁄10 of a sea mile, 1 minute of latitude locally.
• US customary (US Navy): Template:Sfn

In 2008 the Royal Navy in a handbook defined it as follows:

Citations

• . Also "fathom", from the same work (pp. 88–89, retrieved 12 January 2017).
• Various subpages within the ropery section.
• Template:OEDsub
• .