Reed's Snowmachine & Marine History
Reed's Snowmachine & Marine was started in 1983 by lifelong Fairbanksan, Reed Miller at the age of seventeen. During the first couple of years all work was performed out in the yard without the benefit of a garage. During winter, tools and hands were warmed on the wood stove in the house between short spurts of finger numbing work. Eventually, a 24' x 24' garage was built at the old homestead house on Chena Ridge and life became much easier.
In time, Reed's business outgrew his parent's yard and it was time for a change. Over the next four years, all money that was made went into buying land and putting up a new building near the Chena River at the airport. Racing days came to an end because the time and money Reed was spending racing Yukon 800 boats now went into the new building. Without the countless hours of unpaid hard labor of construction by retired research scientist & professor, Keith Miller (Reed's Dad), the project, very simply would have been impossible at that point in time.
Today, there are employees, multiple lines of boats and outboards, and many times the number of customers from the early days. The business has become a thriving operation that is busy six days a week.