port quarter question

[hugh3]

Looking forward from behind the wheel - from dead ahead to 45 degrees to port would be considered something off the port bow. From
Dead astern to 45 degrees off the Port would be something off the port quarter.

[Guest]

I was talking to an older gentlemen I ran into at the river over the weekend that told me of how he spent many hours cleaning up residue from the deck below the aft mounted unloading booms that were becoming common when he sailed during the late 1970s. This accumulation took place when the ship unloaded its cargoes. He referred to this area as the port or starboard quarter of the ship, but looking at diagrams and definitions online it seems like this is more often used as a direction away from a vessel rather than a description of the port side of the stern area. Ex.= "Sighted off the port quarter." Maybe I'm misunderstanding something that someone with sailing experience could clear up.