How to Use gunwale in a Sentence

gunwale

noun
  • Well over a million pounds of salmon have crossed her gunwales.
    — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 7 July 2018
  • Drill and screw the snap studs onto the inboard side of the gunwale.
    — Ryan Chelius, Field & Stream, 18 Feb. 2021
  • Some boats can’t be fitted with rod holder mounts that fit flush against a gunwale or transom.
    — The Editors, Field & Stream, 26 Feb. 2020
  • Our red test Raider was decked out to the gunwales but didn't cost a second mortgage.
    — Rich Ceppos, Car and Driver, 1 July 2023
  • From there, the motor hoists them up over the gunwale and onto the deck, where William ties them down.
    — Matthew Bremner, Slate Magazine, 24 July 2017
  • Icy water began crashing over the gunwale, causing the boat to flip like a toy.
    — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 5 Apr. 2026
  • The winch on the power block strains to pull it up over the gunwale and to the hopper, where the fish are dumped for gutting.
    — Matthew Bremner, Slate Magazine, 24 July 2017
  • The same goes for the Arrow’s low gunwales when traversing the side decks—not ideal in big seas.
    — Kevin Koenig, Robb Report, 20 Nov. 2024
  • Marigolds line the gunwale of the boat with a pink and blue Sugar Skull painted on the stern.
    — Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register, 15 Aug. 2024
  • Marigolds lined the gunwale of the boat with a pink and blue Sugar Skull painted on the stern.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 6 June 2025
  • Sixty-foot-tall spruce trees groaned and shuddered as the boat's gunwales slowly shouldered them aside.
    — Author: Rick Sinnott, Alaska Dispatch News, 26 Aug. 2017
  • Wisely, the designers added gunwale handhelds from the cockpit to the tip of the boat.
    — Kevin Koenig, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2023
  • Part of it had landed squarely behind the boat’s bow, pressing a section of gunwale flat to the keel.
    — Popular Mechanics, 13 Oct. 2018
  • From the video, the kid looks like a 70-pound halibut sliding over the gunwale of a trawler’s slippery deck.
    — Patrick May, The Mercury News, 30 May 2017
  • At this point another boat glided by, its gunwales lined with tourists staring into the cameras.
    — Christopher Borrelli, chicagotribune.com, 2 Oct. 2019
  • But if the cormorants are being hunted, what explains the presence on each boat of an unperturbed bird perched on the gunwale?
    — Washington Post, 23 June 2021
  • The rusting bow and the remnants of its gunwales protrude above the surface, forming a beacon for divers and snorkelers.
    — Joshua Hammer, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2017
  • Each model features sleek lines, sculpted gunwales around the bow and glazing that runs from hull to superstructure.
    — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 15 Feb. 2023
  • Other changes include a thicker polyurethane insole and a shin guard along the front of the boot for those grueling hours leaning over the gunwales.
    — Melissa Devaughn, Anchorage Daily News, 31 Mar. 2018
  • The deadrise was sitting upright, so Thomas Reed vaulted its gunwales and walked up its deck to the cabin.
    — Earl Swift, Outside Online, 20 June 2018
  • Scared to put weight on the thin plywood hull, the men arranged themselves in a ring atop the gunwales, balancing skinny bodies with plump ones.
    — Matthew Wolfe, Harper's magazine, 10 Feb. 2019
  • For example, mark a pole, leader and float, or the gunwale of the boat with measurements for the legal retention size.
    — Saryn Chorney, PEOPLE.com, 21 May 2018
  • Where the Battle of the Gullet struggles isn’t to do with how handmade the gunwales are, nor how battered the oars.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 24 June 2026
  • As the car came down, four men guided it toward the I beams laid across the gunwales, securing the wheels with wooden blocks, like a truck parked on a hill.
    — Rowan Moore Gerety, Harper's magazine, 10 June 2019
  • The weight of that many passengers caused rising waves to lap at the tops of the gunwale — the lone protector against catastrophic swamping.
    — Bryce Miller Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Oct. 2021
  • Boating spectators gripped one another’s gunwales to hold position against the southerly breeze.
    — Ben McGrath, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023
  • Nearly everywhere Wasserman went, stadiums were packed to the gunwales.
    — Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 11 Aug. 2024
  • The upmarket tester boasted a lovely interior loaded to the gunwales with standard gear.
    — Al Haas, Philly.com, 12 July 2018
  • Smith suggested that anglers mark the 20-inch fork length size limit for dolphin on the boat’s gunwale with tape or a pencil and use a landing net for small fish.
    — Steve Waters, Sun-Sentinel.com, 4 July 2017
  • During our first in-water encounter, a mother gets comfortable enough with our 26-foot tender for a gaggle of us to strap on masks and slip over the gunwales.
    — Darrell Hartman, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Aug. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gunwale.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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