Convert Fathom to Furlong (ftm → fur)

Converting fathoms to furlongs is straightforward: multiply by the conversion factor. Follow these three steps to do it by hand or in your head.

1. 1
   Take your value in fathoms

   Start with the number of fathoms (ftm) you want to convert.
2. 2
   Multiply by 0.009091

   The conversion factor from ftm to fur is 0.009091. Multiply your value by this number.
3. 3
   Read the result in furlongs

   The result is your value in furlongs (fur).

Multiply the value in fathoms by 0.009091. For the reverse direction, multiply by 110.

• ✓1 fathom = 2 yards = 6 feet = 1.8288 m.
• ✓Modern charts use metres internationally; fathoms are mostly historical.
• ✓The word "fathom" comes from Old English for "outstretched arms" — originally the span of an adult's arms.

• ✗Reading a modern chart that uses metres as if it were fathoms — a factor-of-1.83 depth error.
• ✗Confusing fathoms with feet on mixed-unit charts.
• ✗Assuming all US charts still use fathoms — NOAA has largely migrated to metres.

What is the Fathom?

The fathom equals exactly 1.8288 meters or 6 feet and is the traditional marine depth unit. The word derives from the Old English 'fæðm,' meaning the span of outstretched arms — historically the distance a sailor could measure rope by stretching it from fingertip to fingertip. Used since antiquity for sounding water depth (lowering a weighted line and counting fathom marks), the fathom remains common in nautical charts, diving manuals, and marine literature. Famous from Mark Twain's pen name (a riverboat lead's call meaning 'safe water,' 2 fathoms or 12 feet) and Shakespeare's 'full fathom five,' the unit retains cultural resonance. Modern oceanographic science prefers the meter, but the fathom persists in fishing, recreational diving, and historical maritime contexts. The fathom relates to the foot (1 fathom = 6 ft) and the yard (1 fathom = 2 yd).

• Water depth on older US nautical charts
• Maritime literature and historical navigation
• Sport diving and scuba depth references in the US

What is the Furlong?

The furlong equals exactly 201.168 meters or one eighth of a mile (220 yards). The unit's name comes from the Old English 'furh' (furrow) and 'lang' (long), reflecting its origin as the length of a furrow that an ox team could plow without resting. Formalized in medieval England, the furlong was standardized as 40 rods or 660 feet during agricultural land measurement. Today, the furlong's primary modern use is in horse racing across the United Kingdom, the United States, and several Commonwealth countries — race distances are quoted in furlongs (a 6-furlong sprint is ¾ of a mile). It also appears in old land deeds, particularly in Britain. The furlong relates to the mile (8 furlongs = 1 mile), the yard (220 yd = 1 furlong), and the meter (≈201 m).

• Flat racing and National Hunt distances in the UK
• Thoroughbred racing in the US and Canada
• Historical land measurement in England