Fathom
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A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet, used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom is neither an international standard unit, nor an
Standard units in Regensburg: the metal rods are (from left to right) a fathom (klafter), foot (schuch, Modern German Schuh "shoe") and ell (öln, Modern German Elle).
Macclesfield Bank 1920 nautical chart
Cable length
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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
Fathom
…the British navy redefined the shackle to be 15 fathoms (90 ft; 27 m). The Finnish fathom (syli) is occasionally used: 1⁄1000 nautical mile or 1⁄100 cable length. A burial at sea (where the body is weighted to force it to the bottom) requires a minimum of six fathoms of water. This is the origin of the phrase…
A chain cable. A cable length is based on the historic length of a ship's cable.