US man who solo built a 100-foot megayacht in his backyard despite not knowing how to do it shares what happened after he completed it
Published on Mar 04, 2026 at 3:30 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Mar 04, 2026 at 3:30 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Henry Kelsall
If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build a 100-foot megayacht in your backyard, this American man tried it and revealed what happened after he had.
Clyde Stires wanted to build his own massive yacht, but didn’t have a shipyard in which he could go and build it.
Stires built it 85 miles from the ocean, and it was so big it could not be transported in one go, and needed to be cut into sections to do so.
A YouTube video from near the end of 2025 retrospectively showed the process of building the yacht in his backyard, which was later stolen by a Mexican cartel, and then taking it to a marina in San Diego, California.
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This is why Stires wanted to build a megayacht in his backyard
Stires didn’t really have a particular reason for wanting to build such a large luxury vessel.
His desire stemmed from simply wanting to have his own yacht, but there was a catch.
He had no idea how to build one, and had practically no help to fulfill his dream – so he did it on his own in his backyard.
Stires drew up his own plans, basic though they were, with images of the frames and various dimensions shown in another video.
This video also showed off the formation of the hull, including the strengthening of the structure.
Stires clearly wanted to take his time with it, hence the build taking five years to complete.
After completion, there was one massive problem to overcome – literally, massive.
That was how to get it to the ocean, and away from his home in the desert.
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How the massive ship was taken to the ocean
The video from his YouTube account (clyde E S) showed pictures of the giant boat being prepared to move.
Such was the size of it, the yacht, named Kaleidoscope, needed to be cut into seven sections.
Pictures showed the various sections of the yacht and the trailers used to transport it.
After transport to a marina in San Diego, images then showed the yacht being put back together.
Each section of the vessel was carefully rebuilt and pieced back together to recreate the massive yacht as it was in the desert.
After rebuilding it, the yacht was taken out to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico.
Stires was able to enjoy and relax on it at last.
This is how the yacht was stolen by the cartel
Amazingly, the megayacht was stolen several years ago by members of a Mexican cartel.
While at a restaurant, Stires had a phone call from his secretary telling him the cartel was on the boat.
They kidnapped some of his crew and took their phones.
After sending the crew back to shore, the cartel made off with the boat.
It would go missing for ten days.
After a huge appeal for information, the Mexican Navy was able to recover the yacht and reunite Stires with it.
Following this, the boat was moved back to the United States.
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Henry joined the Supercar Blondie team in February 2025, and since then has covered a wide array of topics ranging from EVs, American barn finds, and the odd Cold War jet. He’s combined his passion for cars with his keen interest in motorsport and his side hustle as a volunteer steam locomotive fireman at a heritage steam railway.
