GUNWALE
gunwale, gunnel, gun rest
(noun) wale at the top of the side of boat; topmost planking of a wooden vessel
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
gunwale (plural gunwales)
(nautical) The top edge of the hull of a nautical vessel, where it meets the deck.
Source: Wiktionary
Gun"wale, n. Etym: [Gun + wale. So named because the upper guns were
pointed from it.] (Naut.)
Definition: The upper edge of a vessel's or boat's side; the uppermost wale
of a ship (not including the bulwarks); or that piece of timber which
reaches on either side from the quarter-deck to the forecastle, being
the uppermost bend, which finishes the upper works of the hull.
[Written also gunnel.]
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition