Nautical Term: Pale

Definition of Pale

A ‘pale’ refers to one of the interior shores used to steady and support the neams (frames) of a ship during the building process.

For instance, imagine a shipbuilder constructing a large, three-masted vessel. The neams of the hull must be carefully shaped and secured. To do this, the shipbuilder might employ several interior shores, or pales, to support the neams as they’re being shaped and positioned. These pales would be carefully removed once the neams have been properly secured.

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