Couple say neighbors laughed at them for five years until they finished building their homemade yacht in their backyard

For five long years, their neighbors laughed as they attempted to build a homemade yacht in their backyard. 

But this young couple had the last laugh when they successfully built an incredible 38ft, fully working sailboat. 

Gena and Vita built the homemade yacht from scratch with just $30,000 in materials.

While it wasn’t all smooth sailing, the husband-and-wife-duo dedicated their every waking moment to the build and it paid off.

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Building the 38ft homemade yacht 

Gena and Vita started project-sailboat by constructing a covered build zone in their yard. 

It was right here that they did everything from building the wooden frames to conducting sea trials under sail. 

While they did the majority of the building themselves, the couple said they also had some help from relatives and friends when they came to visit. 

After five years of blood, sweat, and tears, the duo had their very own 38ft long, 11.5ft wide wooden yacht.

Testing the homemade sailboat on water

Called Galaxy, the 38-footer looked incredible, but it still needed to prove it could sail.  

So, as the 5.5-ton yacht was lowered into the water by crane, the couple watched on anxiously. 

When it hit the water and didn’t sink, Gena and Vita celebrated with a bottle of champagne before climbing on board and taking her out. 

Galaxy even outperformed their expectations. 

“The boat turned out to be very maneuverable,” they said. 

“As for a cruiser, it was fast enough and could go at a steep angle to the wind.” 

When they published a video of Galaxy to their YouTube channel, it unsurprisingly went super viral. 

The video garnered more than 32 million views and 16,000 comments. 

“It doesn’t look like a typical self-built DIY project, this looks like it came straight out of a shipyard, built by veteran yacht builders. Insane detail and quality!” one viewer said. 

Even experts were impressed. 

“Having built yachts myself for 69 years, I’ll tell you this is great workmanship,” one said. 

Unfortunately for the couple, they didn’t get to enjoy the fruits of their labor for long. 

They revealed they were forced to sell the yacht soon after she was finished so they would have the finances for their next build. 

Unsurprisingly, this super-talented couple went on to create a second yacht, this time with aluminum. 

Then they went on to build a 640-square-foot house for their elderly parents.

For more incredible DIY builds, check out this homemade Lamborghini Aventador replica or this DIY Lamborghini Countach.