We dredged up 78ft abandoned superyacht and renovated it with eBay bargains – now we’ll never go back to living on land
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A BOAT-BONKERS couple have spent the last five years splashing the cash on fixing 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.
![[Janis and Blaine Carmena with their two children after buying the abandoned yacht]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tangaroa-yacht-superyacht-961272172.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
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.
![[The couple have spent five years working on their Tangaroa superyacht]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/6c0f0366-06be-4444-b628-fac414d714af.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
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.”. The couple currently live full-time on a boat near Victoria, on the west coast of Canada with their 17-year-old daughter Izzy and Mexican rescue dog Maggie.
![[Blasting the paint off - although most was ground off by hand]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/8955e5e5-cafb-451b-a3d8-747945af4779_51055a.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
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.
![[The roof had to be taken down when they first found it because it was home to a colony of termites]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tangaroa-yacht-superyacht-961272256.jpg)
It was riddled with termites and tethered to the sea bed with trails of muscles meaning it was almost impossible to move and not very pleasant to explore. 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.".
![[It's been hands on deck to fix up Tangaroa as daughter Izzy, 17, helps to disassemble the engine]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tangaroa-yacht-superyacht-961272267.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
