Columbia was the successful defender of the second America's Cup

America's Cup

The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...

 race in 1871 against English challenger Livonia.

Design

Columbia, a wooden centerboard schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

, was designed and built in 1871 by Joseph B. Van Deusen in Chester, PA for owner Franklin Osgood of the New York Yacht Club

New York Yacht Club

The New York Yacht Club is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. The organization has over 3,000 members as of 2011. ...

.

Career

Skippered by Andrew J. Comstock, Columbia won the first two 1871 races against Livonia. It was beaten by Livonia in the third race, in which Columbia, damaged from the second race, was skippered by Horatio Nelson "Nelse" Comstock. It was the first America's Cup defender to concede a win to the challenger. As Columbia was further damaged in this third race, it was unable to compete in the final race. The yacht Sappho substituted and won the America's Cup for the second time for the U.S.

Columbia ended its racing career in 1908, when it was dismasted and used as a houseboat

Houseboat

A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a human dwelling. Some houseboats are not motorized, because they are usually moored, kept stationary at a fixed point and often tethered to land to provide utilities...

 in Brooklyn Harbor on the East River

East River

The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...

. Three years later it was rebuilt and sailed as a cruiser out of Newport News, VA. In 1920, Columbia was bought by a fisherman. It was declared lost in 1923.

Specifications

• Overall length: 112 feet (34.1 m)
• Length at water line: 96.5 feet (29.4 m)
• Beam
  Beam (nautical)
  The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
  
   (width): 25.4 feet (7.7 m)
• Draft
  Draft (hull)
  The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
  
  : 5.9 feet (1.8 m)
• Displacement
  Displacement (fluid)
  In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured, as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed object can be deduced .An object that sinks...
  
  : 220 tons
• Sail area: 10225 sq ft (949.9 m²)