Metric system dumbs us down.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "How many here can convert a fathom or a cable to a more "everyday" unit of measure?"

Well, you for one :-) I'd have thot that you are perfectly aware of soundings stated in "favne vand" and that "et pund" coffee, say, is 1/2 kilogramme or 500 grammes.

For purposes that relate directly to accommodating the human body the "old" measures are a lot easier to use. But they have no place in microbiology or in astrophysics. Designing houses and ships using the metric system is a pain. So much easier in "old measures" which aren't specifically English/American. Every society worked in inches, feet and yards, tho these units were of different lengths in different societies. In England/America the "ell" wasn't much used but on the continent its use was more frequent than the use of the "yard".

I used to drive "associates" in Danish lumberyards around the bend by insisting on their explaining to me why sheets of plywood were cut to "stupid" measures like 2,438mm x 1,219mm. Not once did I find an "associate that knew the answer to that. Duh!

TrentePieds

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by grae

"If God had wanted me to use decimal measures he'd have given me 10 fingers to count on......"

Indeed, the reason why we're stuck with Base 10 counting systems today is exactly because of the convenience, to our forefathers, of having 10 digits wiggling around on the end of our arms!

[Mithril Bham]

Originally Posted by Jason Flare

Also, the exact length of a nautical mile is undetermined. It is a portion of the circumference of the earth

Thought it was a minute of latitude at 38 degrees north?

[KP44]

I still use fathoms. But I can easily think in meters or feet.

Water and fuel in gallons (US) or liters; easy to convert unless you need exact conversion.

GPS is great. But good seamanship means being prepared, so sextant, compass, and paper charts are required.

A nautical mile is one minute of arc at the Equator

To travel around the Earth at the Equator, you would travel 21,600 nautical miles, 24,857 miles or 40,003 kilometers.

(Hermes Trismegistus made an accurate calculation of the circumference of the Earth by measuring the length of a stick's shadow at noon, then pacing a distance due south and measuring the shadow again at noon. This was many centuries before Columbus used a "new concept" to go east by sailing west.)

[kas_1611]

The Imperial Gallon actually has nothing to do with the British Empire but came about around the late 1700's when the Imperial Courts of Europe, instead of fighting one another, decided to sit down and try to standardise measurements across the region.

The first one they did was the Gallon, which at that time was loosely based on the Queen Anne wine barrel. However as this barrel varied slightly from place to place the Imperial Courts decided that a Gallon of Water should weigh exactly 10 imperial pounds. So the Imperial Gallon became the first "decimalised" measure. As there were still 8 pints in an Imperial Gallon each pint therefore had to weigh 20 ounces, each half pint being 10 ounces (again decimalised).

The USA was not invited to this meeting having decided to depart company from the British. The USA remained on the Queen Anne gallon and the 16 ounce pint.

A Nautical Mile is quite simple as it is a minute of latitude, nothing to do with either the metric or imperial system.

Keiron

[Mike OReilly]

As a child of the metric transition here in Canada I tend to operate in both systems interchangeably, depending on the situation or thing being measured.

I think of my weight in pounds and my hight in feet and inches, but I buy my food in grams and litres and my lumber in metres and cm. I much prefer to use metric for any sort of project work; working in 1/4” - 1/8” - 1/16” is simply crazy. (It’s why science, engineering and tech areas have always been metric — even in the USA). Buying gas/diesel in gallons makes no viceral sense to me; I instinctively understand $/litre. I like my speeds in km/hr, but I understand mileage in mpg. I think of my boat’s measurements (length, beam, draft, height) in terms of feet, and I prefer my charts to be in feet, but I understand distances in km or nautical miles.

So yeah … we’re pretty bilingual here in Canada. Although I suspect it dies with my generation. The younger folks (those millennial) are much more metric than I.

[nautitrix]

I think this is without a doubt the best and most international thread I have followed on this site!! I really don't know what the problem is. All I do is remember that a fathom is 6.5 inches less than 2 meters and I'm fine if the tide doesn't drop. Now about electron volts, pico-farads, mhos, ohms, and watts.

[Blue Crab]

Bitcoins anyone? ... anyone?

[Jason Flare]

Originally Posted by magellanyachts

Thought it was a minute of latitude at 38 degrees north?

I don't get it. 38* N is the angular measurement from the equator.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Jason Flare

I don't get it. 38* N is the angular measurement from the equator.

The exact length of nautical mile has been agreed to be 1852 metres for a long time now, 1° of latitude measures about that at 48°N.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

I find the imperial system easier. Think about it. It's basically base 8 - octal - like computers use.

Example: Cup, pint, half-gallon, quart, gallon. Easy.

Funny thing about Canada. All through the Maritimes last year I paid for slips and line by the foot, and when getting directions it was always in miles. One place even asked how many gallons of fuel I needed, even though the pump read liters. Only thing that messed me up was trying to buy deli meats in grams. Wonder what would have happened if I asked for a half-pound?

Base 8 like computers??? Computers use the binary system...Base 2.

If you can count to 10 you can master the metric system.

10mm = 1cm
10cm= 1 dm
10dm = 1m
10m = 1Dm
etc, etc.

Most of the rest of the world uses the Metric system, though as a Canadian we still use both and to be honest I don't think I'll ever hear someone asking for a 50mm x 100mm piece of lumber (a 2x4)

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by rom

No, but a bottle of Chardonnay is 75 cl everywhere in the world.

Or Three quarters, we can play with fractions in metric too..

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

...

24/7

...

Say again.

Actually, there is a way to measure angles with decimals rather than that old and worn down 360 system. I have seen it on older Russian compasses. Probably a cold war thing.

It will be long and long before us navigators become anything like metric. Quoting degree decimal does not make the degree anything less imperial either.

So, for the simpleminded ones, give me a metric timepiece and I will convert to metric navigation any time.

Cheers,
b.

[Jason Flare]

Originally Posted by conachair

The exact length of nautical mile has been agreed to be 1852 metres for a long time now, 1° of latitude measures about that at 48°N.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile

It's been agreed to be "rounded" to 1852 meters.

Historically, it was defined as one minute of latitude, which is equivalent to one sixtieth of a degree of latitude. Today it is an SI derived unit, being rounded to an even number of meters[2] and remains in use for both air and marine navigation[3] and for the definition of territorial waters.[4]

So, what is it in reality?

[Mike OReilly]

No, but a bottle of Chardonnay is 75 cl everywhere in the world.

True. But why is wine denoted as 750 ml in Canada and the USA? We don’t see a lot of use of the “cl” unit. Seems we prefer “ml”. Anyone know why?

As for “pints”, I usually ask for a pint of beer when I go to a pub. Of course in many places in Canada and USA the “pint” they serve often bears little resemblance to a real pint.