Dear of troy: you're a real living doll! That picture is just what I was looking for. It makes it very clear that Dana used the term "chime" inaccurately. The "head hoop" and the rivets in it were what marred the deck of the whaler. The "chime" is a sort of wooden hoop inside the "head hoops" to retain the tops and bottoms.

chime 2
n.
5ME chimb < OE cimb3 (only in compounds); akin to Du kim, Ger kimme, an edge & ? COMB16 the extended rim at each end of a cask or barrel