In 1934, Sir T.O.M. Sopwith challenged for the America's Cup with Endeavour. He experimented with new running backstay strain gauges which controlled the trim of the mast. In addition, he used electronic windspeed and direction indicators. Sopwith's Endeavour was matched against Rainbow at the race.

Rainbow was the first J Class yacht to be designed following numerous towing-tank tests. During two months in 1931, dozens of models were tested by designer William Starling Burgess at the tank-test facilities at the University of Michigan. Rainbow was built within 100 days and launched in 1934 from the Herreshoff yard. She had a pear-shaped duralumin mast, designed to take the strain of the double-headed jib.

Despite being considered the more inferior boat, Rainbow, skippered by Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, beat Endeavour by four races to two at the America's Cup. Endeavour was thought to be the best challenger Britain has ever built, but it was suggested that part of the reason for her failure was due to all the gadgets on board.

After the 1934 America's Cup, Rainbow was laid up in dry dock for two years in Bristol, then refitted as a trial horse. In 1937, she was sold to Chandler Hovey to race the defender selection trials but was eliminated by Ranger. Rainbow was laid up at the end of 1937 at Herreshoff Manufacturing in Bristol and sold for scrap in 1940.

With the Rainbow wooden yacht model, one can almost hear the roar of the ocean waves. It is an exact replica of the original, handmade with vigilance, from the very first to the last step. Master craftsmen diligently carve high quality mahogany to create the yacht's form. After it is sanded and puttied, skilled artists paint on the intricate details. Hand-casted resin and handmade metal parts also constitute the model. Clear lacquer provides the finishing touch and long-lasting protection. Each yacht comes on a a display base with brass pedestals and a brass name plate. All items then undergo quality control and are delivered to eagerly waiting customers in professionally-packaged wood crates via FedEx Next Day Air. More than just a display piece, the Rainbow yacht model is a work of art.