Standard vs Metric

[Hoosiersailor]

Would be nice if there was a worldwide standard. I have worked my whole life in the airline/aviation sector and that industry uses the Imperial system. All the nuts, bolts and fasteners are inches, altitude is read/reported in feet and there are no kilometer "mileage" programs. This isn't limited to US based airlines and US built aircraft. Airbus, Embraer and Bombardier aircraft all use imperial hardware.

But most of my vehicles use a mix of everything so you have to have both.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by tms

If you have a boat made after the year 2000, can you get away with only having metric wrenches and sockets, or does anyone think it is necessary to have both standard and metric tools?

There are 2 countries in the WORLD that do not use metric: Liberia and the USA.

it's time...

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

The first time you replace some bolt and nut while in the US you're going to find it very difficult to purchase stainless steel hardware in metric sizes.

I have always found a terrific selection of both in ss at Ace Hardware.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by tms

If you have a boat made after the year 2000, can you get away with only having metric wrenches and sockets, or does anyone think it is necessary to have both standard and metric tools?

Assuming you already own the boat, the answer is simple - check the sizes on your boat.

I have a metric engine but a PO swapped out the alternator so the mounting bolt is standard, not metric. That cost me a trip back to the house once.

Many other nuts and bolts, lag screws, etc. are standard so I carry both sizes.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

And the good old Metric Adjustable Wrench and channel locks

I needed one of them once. Harbor Freight sells an adjustable wrench that's metric on one side and standard on the other.

[goat]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

There are 2 countries in the WORLD that do not use metric: Liberia and the USA.

it's time...

Let's not forget Myanmar. Birds of a feather.........
;^)

[Scott Berg]

Originally Posted by Factor

By "standard" I take it you mean Imperial. And there is nothing standard about that.

What most people mean by 'Standard' is SAE, Society of Automotive Engineering. When they say Imperial they usually mean BSW, British Standard Whitworth. As noted, neither are world standards and haven't been for a hundred years. I carry full sets Metric and SAE and many Whitworth as well, mostly Snap On; you can't have too many tools. Oh, and my boat already weighs 82K dry so an extra hundred or so kilos of tools won't sink it!

[tkeithlu]

Society of Automotive Engineers, actually. Ever see that nut they made that fits both SAE and Whitworth? It sort of wobbles around.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

The first time you replace some bolt and nut while in the US you're going to find it very difficult to purchase stainless steel hardware in metric sizes.

Not really ....but expensive as hell! All my local hardware stores have both.
OP, just carry both, doesn't take much room. The 13mm may fit that 1/2 bolt head with all the rust on it better!

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Scott Berg

What most people mean by 'Standard' is SAE, Society of Automotive Engineering. When they say Imperial they usually mean BSW, British Standard Whitworth. As noted, neither are world standards and haven't been for a hundred years.

Perhaps not "world" standards but either can be standard where you live.

[jeepbluetj]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

There are 2 countries in the WORLD that do not use metric: Liberia and the USA.

it's time...

Long past time. It's one of the things that makes me kinda embarrassed to be an American.

[thinwater]

I'm guessing the OP doesn't work on stuff? He is a US sailor.

Heck, my made-in-Canada boat has many inch-sized parts. The engines are the only all-metric system.

Miss-matched fasteners are the least problem. It's mismatched plumbing that will make you gray.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by jeepbluetj

Long past time. It's one of the things that makes me kinda embarrassed to be an American.

I, for one, am not embarrassed to be an American. Especially now.

If you are embarrassed to be an American, the borders are open (one way).

[hellosailor]

Am I the only one who thinks it is odd that metric socket sets, at least here in the US, usually come with a standard (i.e. Imperial) 3/8" handle? (Or 1/2" or 1/4" but never a metric handle.) Or are they sold with 9.5mm handles in the rest of the world?

[dfelsent]

My new (to me) boat was designed in the US, build in the Netherlands, and has spent about 22 years in US and Caribbean waters and 20 in the UK and 2 in the rest of Europe.
The stove is US, the engine is a Yanmar, the Prop is British, the shaft has a US standard taper, the hatches are French and British, the electronics mostly from the US and the spar Swedish.
The plumbing is a mix of pretty much everything.
It just adds to the challenge. There is almost no way of predicting which fasteners are metric and which are SAE and which plumbing fittings are BSP and so on. Don't forget the mix of Philips, Reed and Prince, and Pozidrive cross head screws. And some rigging pins are metric and others US.

Every boat I have owned has had a mix.It adds to the fun of maintenance. The fasteners tell something about the history of the boat.