We dredged up 78ft abandoned superyacht and renovated it with eBay bargains – now we’ll never go back to living on land
A BOAT-BONKERS couple have spent the last five years splashing the cash to fix up an abandoned 78ft superyacht with eBay bargains.
Adventurous couple Janis and Blaine Carmena started to build their enormous dream home five years ago after discovering the vessel rotting under a tarp in Alaska.
The floating home, a 1969 aluminium trawler called Tangaroa, has already required thousands of hours of work paired with hundreds of thousands of pounds to get into shape.
But the pair - who relied on some savvy eBay buys to help cut the costs - believe the superyacht is almost ready to take them across the globe.
Janis told The Sun: “We’re going to have a big bon-voyage party with our family and friends, then July 7 we are gone - and we’re never coming back.
“We’re gonna be on the water until we’re so old that we can’t move around anymore.”
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The couple already live full-time on the boat near Victoria, on the west coast of Canada, with their 17-year-old daughter Izzy and Mexican rescue dog Maggie.
But the whole family isn't quite on board with boat life as their 21-year-old son Josh has decided to stay on land and lives nearby with family.
The giant superyacht has taken up most of their time in recent years, with the first few months after finding it being the biggest challenge.
It was riddled with termites and tethered to the sea bed with trails of muscles, meaning a lot of work was required to get it ship-shape.
Blaine described it as "three out of ten at best".
As Janis recalled: “The termite wings and poop falling out from holes underneath the deck were quite a surprise."
“We really didn’t expect that reaction,” Blaine said.
Even before living full-time on their floating home the couple have always been around boats.
As kids each of them grew up loving sailing and heading out on the water.
Their relationship actually started onboard a superyacht as they met when Blaine was working as an engineer and Janis as first mate.
They each have 120,000 sea miles under their belts, so they brought plenty of nautical know-how to the ambitious project.
Both moved on from the boating industry for decades but they finally made the decision to move back and rediscover their sea legs.
There's something about being around the water that makes me feel safe
Janis Carmena
Janis had pushed for the life change after suffering from PTSD from her 20 years in the police.
She said: “After 20 years of policing, I got diagnosed with PTSD - and I knew I needed to be back on the water.
“There's something about being around the water that makes me feel safe.”
They initially wanted a boat that was around 50ft, considerably smaller than Tangaroa - but were charmed by the wrapped up vessel when they went to view her.
“She needed love, and she has all these beautiful lines and history - and she was just kind of forgotten up there in Alaska," Janis added.
“It pulls at your heartstrings when you see a boat like this.”
Both consider themselves "aluminium snobs" so the matching yacht perfectly encapsulated their desires.
They lodged an offer for less than half of the CA$500k (£278k) asking price and were initially laughed off by the broker.
But, after some negotiation, they soon found themselves the proud owners of the 78ft mega vessel.
The seafarers then faced two hurdles: they were 700 miles away from their home on the freezing west coast of Alaska, and Covid was starting to grip.
Blaine remembers becoming nervous about whether they would be able to transport the boat back home in time, but after three days the intrepid couple and their dream home-to-be returned to Canada.
That first journey home was in December 2019, when Tangaroa didn’t even have any heating on board.
Janis said: “Blaine had only given it a short sea trial, so it was totally unknown to us.
“I ordered some heaters and foul weather gear up there for us and we just said ‘let’s get this boat ready.’”
We’re gonna be on the water until we’re so old that we can’t move around anymore
Janis Carmena
Not surprisingly, there were some teething issues on their maiden voyage.
Dodgy engine ventilation created a vacuum inside - “that had some interesting effects,” according to Blaine.
“We had little rivers of salt water running through the boat, and water getting sucked in through every crack it could find.”
Despite the on-board chaos, Janis remembers the journey down from Alaska as “the most beautiful we have ever done” - high praise from people who have sailed all over the world.
The idea for their indefinite trip out on sea came after they got the boat home and realised it was possible.
Janis has had their route planned out for some time: “Our plan is here to Alaska for winter and then across the Aleutians, Siberia and Japan.
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“And then we’re thinking down through Micronesia and circumnavigate Australia.
“We don’t want to do the Mediterranean, so we’re going to come up the Northwest Passage and get over to Norway, Finland, Sweden, Scotland.”