Submitted by mike.floutier on
Sorry, another query.
I've got as far as buying a box to put my spare nuts and bolts in but that's it.
I've got over the fact that they are imperial and I've ordered an appropriate socket set.
Now I'm looking to buy a suitable selection of spare nut and bolts etc. However I'm perplexed by the descriptions.
I'm used to a 10mm nut being 10mm across the flats but the imperial 1/4", for example, appears to to refer to the thread diameter with the nut flats measuring 7/16".
What I'm trying to check is that, when the manual refers to the Mast Hinge bolt as being 4 1/2" x 3/8", the 3/8" is the thread diameter.
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MacGregor 26M 2009 - Sky's the Limit - Suzuki DF50
6 Comments
Yep, Macs use standard
Submitted by rick.jones on
Yep, Macs use standard American threads, UNC (Unified Coarse) to be precise (the Yanks probably wouldn't take kindly to them being called "Imperial"!). You'll find 3 standard sizes, 1/4", 5/16" & 3/8" diameter. Spanner (or being American is that wrench?) sizes are 7/16", 1/2" & 9/16" A/F (across-flats) respectively.
BTW, a 10mm nut/spanner size corresponds to an M6 (6mm) bolt. With both metric and American there are thread diameters and nut sizes. It was only the old (genuinely Imperial) BSF & Whitworth where spanner sizes were described in terms of the thread diameter.
A few Mac fittings (esp. internal) use 3/16" threads, sometimes UNF (fine thread) rather than UNC. Nut size is 3/8".
If you need extra or replacement bolts, it's easiest to buy the nearest equivalent metric, but then you end up having to carry a confusing mish-mash of ever more spanner and socket sizes. However, you'll find that stainless UNC hardware is readily available on eBay in all sizes and quantities, at very good prices, usually including postage.
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Many thanks Rick, this is
Submitted by mike.floutier on
Many thanks Rick, this is like being back at school again learning my ABC. It seems tough having to learn basic things at age 62 but at least I only have to do it once and it's such a relief to be able to read things like "UNC" or "1/4" and to know, with certainty, what they mean.
To be honest there have been times when, faced with such a mountain of new stuff, that I've felt like giving up and going back to some old hobby instead of pursuing the long-held sailing dream - years of reading Chichester, MacArthur et al.
You guys have been, and are, such a great help, you feel like friends, thank you!
MacGregor 26M 2009 - Sky's the Limit - Suzuki DF50
Mike, as a very useful
Submitted by john.richards on
Mike, as a very useful addition to a toolkit I can recommend getting an extra socket called a "Gator Grip". Steve Buiskool showed me one of these when I went sailing with him in Cardiff, and it's basically a 3/8" socket that will fit every size of nut, bolt head, even wing nuts from 7-19mm. Only £5 including postage from Ebay, and saves having to carry loads of different sockets or spanners when you're rigging the boat etc. Obviously it won't take a lot of torque for final tightening, but very handy nevertheless.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gator-Grip-ETC-120A-Universal-Socket-Adapter-with-Power-Drill-Adapter-Tool-/391327996837?hash=item5b1cf75ba5:g:xaYAAOSwf-VWVCmc
I recently got one of these,
Submitted by rick.jones on
I recently got one of these, and (as with all things) there are pros & cons.
Yes, it fits a lot of different sizes, but to use it you have to apply end pressure to push the socket over the nut (or hex head). This actually makes operating a ratchet handle a lot more awkward.
It's also quite deep, but because a lot of it is spring there's not very much available depth for the nuts. If you tighten a nut onto a bolt that ends up protruding significantly (as a lot of the Mac bolts do), the socket is either pushed off the nut, or can get jammed on the protruding threads.
I do use it some of the time, but I often find it quicker overall to switch to the correct conventional socket.
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Looks like fun, what can I
Submitted by mike.floutier on
Looks like fun, what can I lose? I've ordered one!
I guess it comes into it's own when you are at sea and suddenly need a socket, or whatever, that you don't have.
What I want to know is, does it make the tea and cook?
MacGregor 26M 2009 - Sky's the Limit - Suzuki DF50
What I want to know is, does
Submitted by rick.jones on
Nah, that's the crew's job :-)
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight