Early U.S. ironclads as learning designs

Is it fair to dismiss early American ironclad designs as novel but poor in broader practical terms?

They gave the U.S. Navy a learning experience; the answer does not establish that every design was a success or a failure.

Early American ironclads gave the U.S. Navy experience with unfamiliar warship designs. The criticism that they were novel but poor prompts a defense of their value as a learning experience. That answer leaves the quality of individual designs unresolved. Their place in naval development therefore includes what the navy learned from building and using them.