Sailors seem to be folk that get hung up on using the correct terms. i.e., lines, sheets, halyard, rode, block etc. So here is one more example,… and if I’m being honest, this post has no actual value… it is just an exercise in persnickering.
There was a recent post where someone asked about finding a particular "machine screw" long enough to through fasten with a nut.
Although it is common to use screw and bolt interchangeably, and in some cases the more common phrase is incorrect (i.e., lag bolt), a threaded rod that protrudes through the fastened materials and requires a nut to hold, is a bolt. Bolts often use a washer behind the nut… and a threaded rod that relies on the friction between the threads and the matted material to hold, is a screw.
In some cases, it is truly ambiguous. For example, it was common for Hunter to embed aluminum plates in the fiberglass of the hull and deck and then tap and dye those when machine “screws” were passed into them. The stanchion posts and deck organizers on my Hunter 26’ were secured this way. The aluminum plate served as an internal “nut” but technically since the bolt did not pass through the material and the deck hardware was secured by friction between the threads of the rod and the deck material, those fasteners were screws.
My coffee is getting cold so I think I should stop...
There was a recent post where someone asked about finding a particular "machine screw" long enough to through fasten with a nut.
Although it is common to use screw and bolt interchangeably, and in some cases the more common phrase is incorrect (i.e., lag bolt), a threaded rod that protrudes through the fastened materials and requires a nut to hold, is a bolt. Bolts often use a washer behind the nut… and a threaded rod that relies on the friction between the threads and the matted material to hold, is a screw.
In some cases, it is truly ambiguous. For example, it was common for Hunter to embed aluminum plates in the fiberglass of the hull and deck and then tap and dye those when machine “screws” were passed into them. The stanchion posts and deck organizers on my Hunter 26’ were secured this way. The aluminum plate served as an internal “nut” but technically since the bolt did not pass through the material and the deck hardware was secured by friction between the threads of the rod and the deck material, those fasteners were screws.
My coffee is getting cold so I think I should stop...