Ship's bells

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Ship's bells are a system to indicate the hour by means of bells, used aboard a ship to regulate the sailors' duty watches.

Ship bell USS Chancellorsville

Unlike civil clock bells, the strikes of the bell do not accord to the number of the hour. Instead, there are eight bells, one for each half-hour of a four-hour watch. Bells would be struck every half-hour, and in a pattern of pairs for easier counting, with any odd bells at the end of the sequence.

The classical system was:

Number of bells	Middle watch	Morning watch	Forenoon watch	Afternoon watch	First dog watch	Last dog watch	First watch
One bell	0:30	4:30	8:30	12:30	16:30	18:30	20:30
Two bells	1:00	5:00	9:00	13:00	17:00	19:00	21:00
Three bells	1:30	5:30	9:30	13:30	17:30	19:30	21:30
Four bells	2:00	6:00	10:00	14:00	18:00		22:00
Five bells	2:30	6:30	10:30	14:30			22:30
Six bells	3:00	7:00	11:00	15:00			23:00
Seven bells	3:30	7:30	11:30	15:30			23:30
Eight bells	4:00	8:00	12:00	16:00		20:00	0:00

Ship bell of ORP Iskra II - Polish Navy school tall ship

Most of the crew of a ship would be divided up into between two and four groups called watches. Each watch would take its turn with the essential activities of manning the helm, navigating, trimming sails, and keeping a lookout.

The hours between 16:00 and 20:00 are so arranged because that watch (the "dog watch", which is curtailed) was divided into two. The odd number of watches aimed to give each man a different watch each day. It also allows the entire crew of a vessel to eat tea, the normal time being at 1700 with First Dog watchmen eating at 1800.

Some "ship's bell" clocks use a simpler system:

Number of bells	Hour (a.m. and p.m.)
One bell	12:30	4:30	8:30
Two bells	1:00	5:00	9:00
Three bells	1:30	5:30	9:30
Four bells	2:00	6:00	10:00
Five bells	2:30	6:30	10:30
Six bells	3:00	7:00	11:00
Seven bells	3:30	7:30	11:30
Eight bells	4:00	8:00	12:00

The term "Eight bells" can also be a salutary way of saying that a sailor's watch is over, for instance, in his or her obituary. It's a nautical euphemism for "finished".