Gunwale

The gunwale (pronounced gunnel) is the upper edge of a boat’s hull where the topsides meet the deck or sheer. The word dates to the planking that once supported a ship’s guns. On a small boat it is the rail you grip or sit against; on a sailing dinghy crews hike out over the windward gunwale to keep the boat flat. It carries fittings such as fairleads, rowlocks, and toe straps, and defines the line measured to for freeboard at the side.