Aweigh App

[Smoggy]

We still use inches at work as it's all yank stuff, oil is measured in US quarts, fuel flow is US pints/hour, all our micrometers are inch and all tools.

[marshman]

I wasn't knocking the Aweigh app, as I have it on my phone, but merely pointing out a limitation. After all its free and the information is never going to be 100% accurate but it provides a useful tool but like many electronic aids, be mindful its not gospel!!

[Mouldy]

13 minutes ago, Smoggy said:

We still use inches at work as it's all yank stuff, oil is measured in US quarts, fuel flow is US pints/hour, all our micrometers are inch and all tools.

Yep, so a US gallon is different to a UK gallon.  Fairly sure a litre is the same around the world.

My lad is a fabricator/welder and has never worked in imperial measurements from when he started his apprenticeship.

Crazy.

[Bikertov]

1 hour ago, Vaughan said:

That sounds a bit like a debate going on in the National Trust and several other charities at the moment,  about the freedom to roam our "whites only" countryside!

I suppose I just lament that skills that we learned at school just don't seem to be taught any more, because the kids can just download something instead.  There is great pleasure in being able to read the detail of a map, almost like being able to read a book.

When I was truck driving it was long before GPS and I drove all over France relying solely on Michelin maps, in two different scales.  They even tell a truck driver the height under road bridges.

I will always choose a good map and have never had a GPS in a car.  But then I am an old git nowadays . . . 

Back in 1992, I toured Europe solo on my motorbike for nearly 6 months, making it to the Greek Islands and beyond, just with a few Michelin paper maps and a compact 35mm film camera.

But it would have been a lot easier with a GPS and a smart phone with digital camera ...

Nowadays, I use GPS in the car for every journey, even my daily commute to work. Why ? Because it will warn me of traffic and suggest re-routing even for a familiar journey. And with it I know with surprising accuracy when I will arrive somewhere.

And I'm not such a young git myself these days 

[Bikertov]

56 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

Yep, so a US gallon is different to a UK gallon.  Fairly sure a litre is the same around the world.

 

Yes, a litre is a litre - 1 cubic metre, 1000 cubic cm (cc), of volume - wherever you are

And in relation to a litre of water, that will weigh 1kg, 1000g

[Smoggy]

18 minutes ago, Bikertov said:

Yes, a litre is a litre - 1 cubic metre, 1000 cubic cm (cc), of volume - wherever you are

And in relation to a litre of water, that will weigh 1kg, 1000g

Only pure water though!

US fluid ounces are different too.

[grendel]

1 hour ago, marshman said:

I wasn't knocking the Aweigh app, as I have it on my phone, but merely pointing out a limitation. After all its free and the information is never going to be 100% accurate but it provides a useful tool but like many electronic aids, be mindful its not gospel!!

yes electronic aids are a good thing but when you drop your phone overboard, or it gets wet and stops working, most modern kids would be totally lost without their phone, they have grown to rely on it to the extent they cant even buy food without the phone.

in the past I have killed 2 phones by water ingress, and one holiday I forgot it and left it at home, and yet still managed to enjoy myself for a whole week on the water.

As for data, no, I wont get embroiled in the financial scam that is the modern phone contract, for me its pay as you go, even with data on my wifi dongle, I will buy a 12Gb data package with a 1 year expiry, and maybe it runs out after 11 months, so yes data use by apps would be an issue, for me. but then I am an admitted luddite when it comes to certain technology, get a smart phone and keep in touch with everyone- the issue there is do I really want to be available, probably not.

 

[DAVIDH]

1 hour ago, Smoggy said:

One of the benefits of satnav on a connected device is traffic issues even on a route you know well, the machine re-routes when you are not expecting it means there's a problem come up on the roads that the radio hasn't mentioned yet

Agree this is a big positive on app-based rather than an installed satnav. Just wish mine (tomtom) would tell me why it's rerouting, and give me a choice. Sometimes think it's trying to save me five minutes taking me all around the back roads.

[YnysMon]

1 hour ago, DAVIDH said:

Agree this is a big positive on app-based rather than an installed satnav. Just wish mine (tomtom) would tell me why it's rerouting, and give me a choice. Sometimes think it's trying to save me five minutes taking me all around the back roads.

Our SatNav (whom my husband affectionately refers to as ‘Shirley’) gives us many moments of hilarity. The best ones yet were a recent trip to Anglesey travelling along the A55 coast road. From the turn off to Prestatyn onwards she kept trying to tell us to turn off onto more minor roads. No idea why as there weren’t any traffic issues. The hilarious bit was the mangling of Welsh places names. She came up with some corkers. To be fair, she not that good with some English place names. Bicester and Flitwick are is always pronounced as spelled rather than Bister and Flitick.

[Smoggy]

I used to have tomtom on a pda with the roger mellie voice (from viz), that was always an amusing trip for sure.

[Mouldy]

15 minutes ago, YnysMon said:

 . . . . . . . . . The hilarious bit was the mangling of Welsh places names. . . . . . . . . .

Aw, c’mon Helen, most English people would struggle with Welsh place names, especially without expectorating at anyone standing in the firing line.  How do the Welsh expect us to pronounce names like Dduallt, Machynlleth or Abergwygregyn?

I rest my case.

[Bikertov]

1 hour ago, Smoggy said:

US fluid ounces are different too.

That's why you have to be careful with American recipes - the quantities can be all wrong if you don't realise

[kpnut]

4 hours ago, Mouldy said:

My lad is a fabricator/welder and has never worked in imperial measurements from when he started his apprenticeship.

 

1 hour ago, Bikertov said:

That's why you have to be careful with American recipes - the quantities can be all wrong if you don't realise

In a lesson I used to teach to 11 yr olds about weighing and measuring in the kitchen, we would compare imperial and metric so they would understand recipes in both and know not to muddle them, but as an aside I then used to tax them about hundredweights, tons etc and also firkins, kilns, casks and hogsheads. They thought the brewing names were hilarious!

Now tell me why when I bought curtain fabric the other day, the width was quoted and measured in imperial (54”) but I had to tell the lady how much of that I wanted in metric, 3.2m.  

I initially mistook the 54” as 154cm, knowing I needed a width of 140cm, thinking that’s great, there’ll be loads of spare width for a nice wide hem.
I got there in the end!

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, kpnut said:

Now tell me why when I bought curtain fabric the other day, the width was quoted and measured in imperial (54”) but I had to tell the lady how much of that I wanted in metric, 3.2m.  

I initially mistook the 54” as 154cm, knowing I needed a width of 140cm, thinking that’s great, there’ll be loads of spare width for a nice wide hem.
I got there in the end!

Precisely my point.  Isn’t it about time we standardised measurements?  We buy carpet now in metric widths, timber in metric lengths, fuel by metric volume and even bottled beer in 500ml bottles.  Some milk is sold in two litre bottles and other in four pint bottles.

Yesterday I quoted the fuel consumption of my car in miles per gallon.  I haven’t bought a gallon of petrol or diesel for years, so if we continue to use miles as a measure of distance, surely it makes sense to use miles per litre as a standard?

I wonder how many of the younger generations know how many inches are in a foot, feet in a yard, yards in a chain, chains in a furlong or furlongs in a mile.

It really is farcical.

[Smoggy]

And how many know that to "give it the whole 9 yards" is only a good thing depending on which end you are, 9 yards was the length of a machine gun belt I believe (happy to be corrected, I'm only a mere sprog compared to some of you lot).

So........

Is a tad or a gnats c*ck metric or imperial?

[dom]

1 hour ago, Mouldy said:

surely it makes sense to use miles per litre as a standard?

This is the problem. The above is also wrong - it ought to be km per litre, but we measure distance in miles, so it's impractical to make the switch. We do generally produce km/l figures, but no-one likes them, so they're not widely quoted.

Personally, I quite like the way we've done things. We've lost the awkward stuff like old money, but kept the familiar pint, gallon, mile, etc

1 hour ago, Smoggy said:

And how many know that to "give it the whole 9 yards" is only a good thing depending on which end you are, 9 yards was the length of a machine gun belt I believe (happy to be corrected, I'm only a mere sprog compared to some of you lot).

I think that's an inaccurate etymology started by American WW2 fanatics and it's actually a much older expression.

[Wussername]

Are there many countries in the world who have issues with measurements. Different types of measurements. Miles v Km for instance. And so on and so forth. Or is it just us, or more painfully,  NFN,  normal for Norfolk.

[ExSurveyor]

Who wants a 568ml of beer 🍻

 

[grendel]

2 hours ago, Smoggy said:

And how many know that to "give it the whole 9 yards" is only a good thing depending on which end you are, 9 yards was the length of a machine gun belt I believe (happy to be corrected, I'm only a mere sprog compared to some of you lot).

So........

Is a tad or a gnats c*ck metric or imperial?

its two smidgens

[MargeandParge]

1 hour ago, ExSurveyor said:

Who wants a 568ml of beer 🍻

 

Old Parge does as very often the 68 ml is a safety margin that ends up down me shirt,in me lap or on the floor. So I get a half litre share same as the rest of the world. 

You also leave a bit of grace to the bar tender that serves a pint with the tide out. (see the app got aweigh with that)..

Kindest Regards Marge and Parge 

[CeePee1952]

The Aweigh app works down under as well 😂 0854 hrs Sat morning and moored up at Lyttelton near Christchurch!

Chris and Brenda

 

[kpnut]

1 hour ago, CeePee1952 said:

The Aweigh app works down under as well 😂

What does it pick up as the nearest tidal reference?
 

In Yorks, it’s Boston if I remember, in Sussex it’s gypsy lane on the river Nene. 

 

[YnysMon]

10 hours ago, Mouldy said:

Aw, c’mon Helen, most English people would struggle with Welsh place names, especially without expectorating at anyone standing in the firing line.  How do the Welsh expect us to pronounce names like Dduallt, Machynlleth or Abergwygregyn?

I rest my case.

Yes, but…

When we were driving through France and Belgium Shirley’s voice got overlaid with a proper pronunciation of places (though actually in Belgium that was still confusing as the signposts generally have more than one version of the place name, such as French and Flemish…by the time you’ve figured out which you are well past the turning).

Anyways, I’m miffed that they can do that abroad but not bother with Wales. 

[Broads01]

I've always liked the Aweigh app even though I know it has it's limitations. I like the ease with which it can tell you speed (not all boats are fitted with GPS) and give a reasonable tide prediction. The main limitation I've found is it assumes the tide rises and falls evenly over time which I know isn't the case. 

[Smoggy]

5 hours ago, ExSurveyor said:

Who wants a 568ml of beer 🍻

 

Nice of you to offer yes please,  it's about time you bought everyone in nbn a pint!

Bad news is Gracie is having a pint of prosecco!