A strake, strip or plank, which stands proud of the rest of the hull. The gunwale is properly a finishing strake above all the others in a hull, but the term is used for the upper edge of any hull, whether planked or not. An Inwale is a separate stringer running fore and aft on the inside of the upper edge of the hull. (Incidentally, the word itself is of the same origin as ‘weal’, a raised ridge on the flesh. Also incidentally, notice how often gunwale is misspelled ‘whale’.)