wale vs gunnel

wale and gunnel both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
wale	Yes	No	No	No
gunnel	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, gunnel is a hyponym of wale; that is, gunnel is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than wale:

wale: thick plank forming a ridge along the side of a wooden ship
gunnel: wale at the top of the side of boat; topmost planking of a wooden vessel

Other hyponyms of wale include garboard, garboard plank, garboard strake, gun rest, gunwale.

wale (noun)	gunnel (noun)
thick plank forming a ridge along the side of a wooden ship	small eellike fishes common in shallow waters of the northern Atlantic
a raised mark on the skin (as produced by the blow of a whip); characteristic of many allergic reactions	wale at the top of the side of boat; topmost planking of a wooden vessel