Sentence:  Old Applegate, in the stern, just set and looked at me, and Lord James, amidship, waved both arms and kept hollering for help. I took a couple of everlasting big strokes and managed to grab hold of the skiff's <WSD>rail</WSD>, close to the stern. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A horizontal bar extending between supports and used for support or as a barrier; a railing.