Rainbow (clipper)
extreme clipper ship
Rainbow, launched in New York in 1845 to sail in the China trade for the firm Howland & Aspinwall, was a clipper, a type of sailing vessel designed to sacrifice cargo capacity for speed.
An early clipper ship
Rainbow was an early clipper ship. It was built in 1845, in accordance with John W. Griffiths' ideas, and followed by Sea Witch the next year. Both of the vessels are cited as being highly influential in subsequent U.S. merchant hull design. Though initial opinions were that Rainbow would sink during its first trip, its subsequent success led to a rush to adopt the new design in shipbuilding across Boston, New York, Philadelphia and British manufacturing companies.
Its design was created around the concept of sacrificing cargo capacity in favour of speed. As per Griffiths' ideas, it featured a lengthening of the bow above water, a drawing out and sharpening of the forward body, and the greatest breadth further aft (further aft than earlier designs, not further aft than forward). These modifications had the effect of minimizing water resistance. He allegedly formulated his design after studying the lines of the owner's previous ship, the Ann McKim.
Design and construction
Clipper bow
Rainbow was launched in 1845.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rainbow (clipper)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.