Blackfoot locals restoring some of the rarest boats

Two locals have spent the last six years restoring and maintaining some of the rarest boats in Blackfoot. Randy and Karen Reed own two Chris-Craft boats from the 1940s and 30s.

During a very windy afternoon Friday, the two showed off their boats just before lowering one into the water of Jensen Grove Park in Blackfoot.

“This one took me a year and a half to restore. The other one took me three and a half years. I found out that this is a 17ft boat, that’s a 22ft boat. I found out that a 22ft boat is a lot more boat to restore,” said Randy Reed.

He says these boats are hard to find, and you don’t often see a boat made of wood anymore. The Reeds have started restoring and maintaining boats since 2010. They named their antique gems “Vaka Papa’a” and “Making Memories.”

“They’ve both been in the water. We’ve water skied in this one, we haven’t on that one yet. We’re still breaking in the motor,” said Reed.

During the boat ride, the wind and occasional spray from the lake felt like the ultimate vacation. But aside from the ride, Reed says him and his wife like to also polish up the boats for contests. Which they won quite a few already. And since they’ve come a long way, it goes to show anyone with a hobby, that it’s important to finish what you start.

“I’ve always been interested in boats, but my neighbor was restoring one, and I helped him restore his. I got interested in it more, then I got on Ebay and bought a boat and went to work on it.

He says even though the restoration projects on both boats cost a pretty penny, he still plans to add more boats in the future.