(Photos by Jay Waxler) –  Every once in a while, we run an item here that is out of even our sweeping wheelhouse. This is one of those events. Called the River Rockets Flat Bottom Regatta, it is a boat show like nothing most people have ever seen before. Jay Waxler headed out to the Pirates Cove Resort in Needles, California to take in the event and he filed this great collection of photos. Knowing absolutely nothing about this style of water craft we’re going to go out on a limb and say that they are like the pro street cars of boats. That is not a knock on them, just the opposite really. With their lithe little hulls, minimal seating, and giant ass tunnel rammed, blown, or nitrous injected big blocks swallowing up the back of the boat, these things have to be freaking awesome to hammer on calm waters.

Like many pro street cars, these boats have elaborate paint work that ranges from 1970s chic to sublime designs that pretty much cannot be put into sensible words. In the vast majority of them, seating is limited to a pair of pretty form fitting high backed buckets. There are a couple of boats in this gallery with a “back seat” but frankly it seems like any normal sized human wouldn’t be too comfy back there for a long stretch. We’d love to tell you how fast they go, how they handle, how much fuel they guzzle, etc but we can’t because we don’t know jack about them. For us, this gallery is like looking at fine art or naked girls….or fine art featuring naked girls. It isn’t about asking questions, it is about admiring what’s in front of you. Even if you don’t know junk about these machines, check out the photos Jay Waxler shot…they’re truly gearhead porn!

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