Appraising man on board ... (6)

I believe the answer is:

rating

I believe this is a double definition.

'appraising' is the first definition.
(rating is a kind of appraising)

'man on board' is the second definition.
(a rating is a non-commissioned navy sailor)

(Other definitions for rating that I've seen before include "Non-commissioned sailor in the Royal Navy" , "Classification assigned to person as, say, for income" , "Grading; sailor" , "Salt" , "Doing an appraisal" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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