Rainbow was a sternwheel steamboat that was operated in the Coos Bay region of Oregon from 1912 to 1923. Rainbow is sometimes referred to as a "launch", meaning a small steamboat. This vessel's name is sometimes seen as Rain-Bow.
Design, construction, and launch
Shipbuilder Frank Lowe built Rainbow at Marshfield (Coos Bay), Oregon in 1912. The steamer was launched on March 26, 1912, at 7:00 a.m. No formal launching ceremony was held, due to uncertainty of when during the day the launch would occur. Rainbow had been built for Captain Charles E. Edwards, of Allegany, Oregon.
At the time of the launch, Rainbow had no engines, and to install the engines and otherwise prepare the vessel for service, was estimated, at the time of launch, to take about three weeks. Captain Edwards had been in charge of another vessel, the Alert, which he had taken out of service to allow him time to complete the Rainbow. Rainbow however was not completed so quickly, it being reported on May 3, 1912 that the vessel was "rapidly nearing completion."
Rainbow was long, with a beam of and depth of hold of . There were accommodations for 100 passengers The overall size of the steamer was 75 gross tons. and 58 registered tons. Total required crew was shown as only two.
The steamer was reported to have been "built specially for the auto travel so that the part of the journey on water could be made as quickly as possible." Freight was carried on the lower deck, which also included a men's cabin. A women's cabin was on the upper deck, and, when the steamer was placed in service, Captain Edwards intended to establish a restaurant on board.
Placed into service
On May 29, 1912, it was announced that Rainbow would be placed in service on June 1, 1912, on the run from Marshfield to Allegany. The steamer's initial planned use was to take passengers from Marshfield up the Coos River to Allegany, Oregon, where they could take an automobile route to Drain. The automobile route had been established just the year before and was claimed to be the quickest way to reach the main rail line.
Rainbow also transported livestock. On the afternoon of September 3, 1912, a cow broke loose on board and fell into Coos Bay. The crew rescued the animal unharmed with the aid of one of the steamer's boat davits.
Sunk by snag
On March 17, 1913, while running on the route between Marshfield and Allegany on the north fork of the Coos River, 'near the head of navigation Rainbow hit a snag and sank. According to one report, the water was shallow, so that the passengers were able to wait on the vessel's upper deck until they could be taken off by a gasoline launch. The extent of the damage could not be immediately determined.
According to another report, the accident occurred near Ox Head on the north Coos River, when Capt. Herman Edwards was at the vessel's wheel. The boat hit the snag a little below Ox Head but did not begin taking on water until a little further on, when the steamer grounded on a bank in shallow water. Four or five passengers were on board, and all were evacuated safely in small boats. The damage turned out not to be too severe.
Planned expansion of auto route
In May 1913, plans were announced to establish, within a few weeks thereafter, an automobile service route from Allegany to Loon Lake. Rainbow, under Captain Edwards, was to make the water connection on this route, from Allegany to Marshfield.
On June 5, 1913, Rainbow carried a large crowd of passengers into Marshfield for the commencement ceremony at Marshfield High School.
In June, 1913, relief service for Rainbow was performed by the launch Telephone.
As of September 6, 1913, Rainbow was under the command of Capt. Herman Edwards and making tourist excursions on Sundays. Rainbow was employed on an excursion to the life-saving station on Sunday, September 7, 1913, departing from a dock at the rear of the Pioneer Hardware store at 8 a.m., with round-trip fare of 50 cents.
Machinery accident on board
On the evening of September 10, 1913, George Overst, then aged 20, who was serving as a fireman on the Rainbow was seriously injured when his clothing caught around a rotating shaft in the vessel's machinery. He could have been killed except that at just that moment the sternwheeler was coming in to the dock at Marshfield, and the engines were reversed, unwinding Overst's clothing and permitting him to free himself. Overst had only been in Coos Bay a few months and was originally from Sherwood, Oregon.