A temporary wooden brace fastened across the upper ends of a vessel's frames while it is being built on the slipway. It maintains the exact designed beam and prevents the heavy timbers from warping inward or outward before the permanent deck beams and knees are installed. Once the hull is rigid, these braces are removed.
Heard on the job
Check the measurements on that cross-spall before we bolt it, or the whole midsection will pull out of alignment.
Also heard as
- cross-pawl