Definition of "gunwale" []

• Nautical The upper edge of the side of a vessel. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "For the upper edges of the sides, called the gunwale (B, B), similar stringers were provided, but they extended farther fore and aft, and amidships were fully six and a half feet apart, whereas the lower stringers amidships were four and a half feet apart."
• "This rod forms the gunwale, which is secured by strings to the ribs."
• "For example, "gunwale" (the small walkway along the side of a boat) is pronounced "gunnel"."