Where is a vessels gunwale located

Originally the gunwale was the "gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design of the ship, at and above the level of a gun deck. It was designed to accommodate the stresses imposed by the use of artillery. In wooden boats, the gunwale remained, mounted inboard of the sheer strake, regardless of the use of gunnery. In modern boats, it is the top edge of the side where there is usually some form of stiffening.

On a canoe, the gunwale is typically the widened edge at the top of the side of the boat, where the edge is reinforced with wood, plastic or aluminum and to which the thwarts are attached.

Modern cedar-strip canoes have gunwales which consist of an inner and outer parts called "inwales" and "outwales". These two parts of the gunwale give rigidity and strength to the hull. The inwale will often have "scuppers" or slots cut into the inwale to allow water to drain when the canoe hull is turned upside down for storing. On a rowing boat, the gunwale is sometimes referred to as the saxboard. On a narrowboat or canal boat, the gunwale is synonymous with the side deck - a narrow ledge running the full length of the sides of the boat allowing a person to walk along the side of the cabin, generally with the aid of a handrail mounted on the roof.

Nearly synonymous with plank-sheer which see ; but its strict application is that horizontal plank which covers the heads of the timbers between the main and fore drifts. The gunwale of a boat is a piece of timber going round the upper sheer-strake as a binder for its top-work. Vessels heeling over, so that the gunwale is even with the water. When a boat sails with a free wind, and rolls each side, or gunwale, to the water's edge, she rolls gunwale-to.

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Term » Definition. Word in Definition. Princeton's WordNet 0. In boats used for competitive team rowing, reinforced side rails can sometimes also be called saxboards. These are mainly used for stability and balance, though riggers for the oars may be bolted onto the saxboard, too. Each rigger holds a gate, which is where the oar sits. Canoe gunwales are usually identifiable as a widened band around the edge of the top of the craft.

They provide structural reinforcement and offer a place to grasp the canoe when lifting or moving it, as well as serving as a barrier to hinder water from splashing into the boat. They are also sometimes called guards or rails. Hobbyists who build handmade wooden canoes typically recognize the importance of reinforced siding. It needs to be correctly built and installed or the canoe may not last long. Favorite woods to use include white ash, cherry, and mahogany.

English Language Learners Definition of gunwale. Kids Definition of gunwale. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Test your vocabulary with our question quiz! Love words? Need even more definitions? Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms The same, but different. Merriam-Webster's Words of the Week - Nov. Ask the Editors 'Everyday' vs. What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'?