Dragging a small boat over land can be hard on its bottom and on your back, and Boat Slider Trax are designed to make the job easier. The portable railway supports your boat with slippery plastic skids that attach on both sides to thin stainless-steel ties. A standard 8-foot fixed unit (shown), good for boats weighing up to 300 pounds, is $210; additional sections cost $165. Folding models start at $160, and Boat Slider also offers heavy-duty and kayak Trax, as well as anchor kits and sea-wall ladders. Boat Slider
; 800-663-7481
Easy mark
Give the race committee a break with these new inflatable marks, which are supposedly easy to grab and can be folded—while inflated—into a compact bundle. The 4-foot-tall Easystows ($249) feature double-wall construction with web reinforcing and come in either bright orange or yellow. Visibility can be enhanced with optional $30 panels, which can accommodate type and sponsor signage. Seoladair; 800-437-7654
Kick-down rudder
Scanmar’s SOS emergency rudder can now be configured for many transoms to deploy quickly when needed. It can also be broken down into seven components that fit into a 48-inch-by-18-inch-by-6-inch bag, leaving only the four brackets on the stern. All parts are 316L stainless, and Scanmar can customize an SOS rudder for boats up to about 50 feet, with prices starting at about $1,800. Scanmar; 510-215-2010
Fast line
New England Ropes designed its new Flight Line for serious racers; it combines a braided Dyneema core with a braided polyolefin jacket for lightweight, high-modulus strength. The composite rope floats, even in fresh water, and is purportedly easy to taper or splice. Flight Line comes in 6-, 8-, and 10-millimeter diameters, starting at $0.70, $1.00, $1.30 per foot, with many color choices. New England Ropes; 800-333-6679
LED lava lamp
Though this one-quart water jug with solar-powered red and white LEDs built into its cap may look odd, it could become a valued cruising gizmo. Given about 16 hours of sunlight, its Ni-Cad battery pack can provide about 8 hours of light; a normal day’s exposure typically generates enough light for one evening. The illumination has a pleasing shimmer from the water in the bottle, which also stabilizes the whole affair. The $25 LightCap will soon be joined by another waterproof, though jugless, solar lamp designed to clamp on a rail or helm guard. Sollight; 888-557-6464
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