Scantling is a measurement of prescribed size, dimensions, or cross sectional areas.
échantillon [fr], is usually taken to be related to Italian scandaglio, sounding-line (Latin scandere, to climb; cf.
[1] In shipbuilding, the scantling refers to the collective dimensions of the framing[1] (apart from the keel) to which planks or plates are attached to form the hull.
[2] The word is most often used in the plural to describe how much structural strength in the form of girders, I-beams, etc., is in a given section.
In the American Bureau of Shipping's Rules for Building and Classing Steel Vessels, it is defined as the distance on the summer load line from the fore side of the stem to the centerline of the rudder stock.