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> Does anyone kow what is the length of a shackle as a unit of
> length? One
> shipping operator  referred to the anchor chain length's in shackles.
> Russell

I don't know about shackle, but since the subject says cable, I have a
follow-up: what length is your cable unit? Merriam-Webster says:

   a maritime unit of length variously reckoned as 100 fathoms, 120 fathoms,
or 608 feet

I think in France we said 1/10th of a Nm, which is close to these. But I'm
not sure anymore. Do English people all relate the cable to the fathom, or
do they also relate it to the nautical mile, and then make a fathom
approximation (which may vary, apparently). Or was there a traditional cable
length for vessels that gave birth to this unit?

YA

   

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