Why are the funnels on ships always at a slight angle backwards?

I was told it was purely cosmetic; the more rakish the tilt, the
faster the ship looks like it will go. I have seen vertical ones, but
not too many.

The following site maybe of help

http://www.rina.org.uk/rfiles/IJME/dsIJME57.pdf

Kind regards

Ross (Australia)

Thanks for your comment, Ross. However, I think there is a technical
reason for the angle. I have seen straight ones, too, but they seem to
be really rare.

The rake isn't always so "slight".

It is just cosmetic since wind direction can't be known and will often
blow faster than the ship is moving.

There is an excellent reason to rake masts on sailboats and sailing
ships of some design and early steam ships often copied the rake so it
became traditional. It does look better in most cases.

And keep in mind that the visible funnels' size and shape has little
to do with the actual "chimney" inside them  - probably for at least
100 years.
I seem to remember that in the early days of the 20th century, more
funnels were sometimes used to suggest more engines and speed, but
were not technically required.  A straight vertical funnel suggests no
motion, standing there like a factory's smokestack.
Siliconsam is right, it's cosmetic.  (Indeed, I wonder if the actual
chimney inside the raked funnel is not actually a vertical tube.)

>I seem to remember that in the early days of the 20th century, more
funnels were sometimes used to suggest more engines and speed, but
were not technically required.

Not only were they not technically required, they weren't even funnels
- the extra ones were dummys.  Only 3 of the Titanic's 4 funnels were
functional - the 4th was added purely for aesthetics.

Ian G.

Would the rake position be there to indicate to other ships the
direction of travel or the bow from the stern of the ship. This would
be really helpful
especially if long distances were involved.