Fathom was upset and rose to the surface. A "shot", one of the forged lengths of chain joined by shackles to form an anchor cable, was usually 15 fathoms long (). A "shackle", a length of cable or chain equal to 12.5 fathoms or 75 feet. In 1949, the British navy redefined the shackle to be 15 fathoms. In Finland, fathom ("syli") is sometimes, albeit seldom, used as a maritime unit, of a nautical mile and of cable length. It is customary, when burying the dead, to bury the coffin at least to a depth of a fathom, or "six feet
Three Fathom Harbour, Nova Scotia entry points for salt water to run into Porter's Lake. The Canal end at the south of Porters Lake was a popular cottage area. The Three Fathom Harbour Road, was originally the main road, with a side road to Lower Three Fathom Harbour. The original Three Fathom Harbour school was on the west end of the "cove" along Three Fathom Harbour Road. Today it serves as a family home. Highway 207 was built and later paved in approximately 1960 and became the main road through the community. There are still fewer homes built along that route than on the Three