NavList:

Hello Joe,

I have used a stopwatch, but am not inclined to do so unless there is a big failure in the timekeeping department.  The simple reason is you are adding another calculation that can introduce error into your sight taking process.  The only time I'd use a stopwatch is if I had to take the time off of the chronometer instead of my UTC-synchronized wristwatch. 

To use a stopwatch, I would start the stopwatch at the top of a minute on the chronometer and then record the sight times as I shot my round.  I would then apply the chronometer correction to the chronometer time, then add the stopwatch time for each body to get UTC of each sight.  Since I am nearly always shooting alone, I would subtract one second on the stopwatch for the delay in looking down (the same as I do with my watch). 

I will say you are far more coordinated than I am if you can push a lap button on a stopwatch while holding and adjusting a sextant.  For me, at sea, holding a sextant is a 2-hand operation, all the while maintaining my balance as the ship moves beneath me.  I do not attempt to hold anything else in my hands while making observations.  I find it far safer to just subtract a second as I look at my watch strapped to my wrist a moment after I take my observation.

I have always found it easier to snychronize my watch to a radio time tick and then take time directly rather than fool around with chronometers which require a daily observation to determine the error rate so you can maintain the proper correction if you lose the ability to synchronize local timepieces.

Bowditch describes using "Watch time" (WT) in all of the ediitons I have, including the latest 2021 edition.  While not exactly a stopwatch, it describes setting a watch to the chronometer time and using that as the comparing watch just as you would a stopwatch.  iEven my 1938 edition of Bowditch just speaks of a "watch" for comparison (pg 214).

While these are my preferences for making observations, I am not about to discourage you from using your stopwatches for keeping time.

Jeremy