the history of the "columbus" is linked with that of the whalebacks, an innovative but not widely accepted ship design of the late 1880s, and of their designer, alexander mcdougall. a scottish immigrant, great lakes captain, inventor and entrepreneur, mcdougall developed the idea of the whaleback as a way to improve the ability of barges to follow a towing vessel in heavy seas. whalebacks were characterized by distinctive hull shapes with rounded tops, lacking conventional vertical sides. waves thus broke across their hulls with considerably less force than when striking a conventional hull. water could also flow around the rounded turrets which resembled gun turrets on contemporary warships; the superstructure and deckhouses were mounted on these turrets. the rounded contours of whalebacks gave them an unconventional appearance,