deck watch

American  

noun

1. (on a ship) a precision watch used on deck for navigational purposes to avoid disturbing the chronometer.

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Etymology

Origin of deck watch

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Formerly, before an officer was allowed to stand a deck watch under way, he had to have two years at sea in addition to his four years' training at the Naval Academy.

From Time Magazine Archive

If this proved correct then, in all probability, the deck watch would largely be gathered on that side, even the attention of the officer more or less drawn in that direction.

From Wolves of the Sea Being a Tale of the Colonies from the Manuscript of One Geoffry Carlyle, Seaman, Narrating Certain Strange Adventures Which Befell Him Aboard the Pirate Craft "Namur" by Parrish, Randall

The resource of the steamer's company was to sit on the upper deck, watch the swollen river with its waifs of uprooted trees and the banks green with the summer, chatting ourselves into intimacy.

From The Last Leaf Observations, during Seventy-Five Years, of Men and Events in America and Europe by Hosmer, James Kendall

The deck watch gazed down at him in awe.

From Horses Nine Stories of Harness and Saddle by Ford, Sewell

There did not appear to be overmuch sense in keeping this deck watch.

From The Submarine Boys and the Spies Dodging the Sharks of the Deep by Durham, Victor G.