Mat Armstrong buys abandoned yacht to restore it and tries to sail it across one of the world's most dangerous seas to avoid $70,000 fee

Mat Armstrong traveled to Spain to buy a non-running abandoned yacht that he’s now keen to bring back to the UK.

So far, so good.

The only minor issue is that the yacht isn’t running, and transporting it to the UK from Spain would cost a fortune.

Which is why Armstrong made a bold decision.

Why Armstrong recently bought this yacht

After rebuilding some serious cars – including a couple of Bugattis and a few Ferraris – YouTuber Mat Armstrong decided to up the ante by restoring a yacht.

She’s called Capri, originally launched in Italy in the early 1990s, and he’s apparently spent the equivalent of a new supercar to buy this vessel.

Originally priced at around $2.2 million, the vessel previously sold at auction at roughly $650,000 three years ago.

Because it was bought as a non-running semi-abandoned yacht with known engine and structural concerns, estimates suggest he paid significantly less – likely between $250,000 and $350,000.

It’s still a lot of cash.

And, this being a boat, it’s likely going to get worse before it gets better.

Why Mat Armstrong decided to restore the boat in Spain rather than in the UK

Mat Armstrong wanted to sail the yacht from Spain to the UK across the notoriously dangerous Bay of Biscay.

Instead of paying over $70,000 for transport, he and his team work tirelessly to restore the vessel to sailing condition.

There was so much wrong we don’t know where to start.

The generator had to be fixed, and the old fire system had to be replaced.

The V12 engines required new filters, new oil, and new gaskets to address the diesel leaks.

“What the hell are we doing? Who thought this was a good idea?” Armstrong joked.

After making it seaworthy again, Armstrong decided to register the yacht in the UK – renamed Capri 1 – and hired a captain to sail from Spain to the UK.

The captain had a great idea.

In his view, it would make more sense to plan shorter, safer hops between marinas instead of a direct crossing.

The good news is that the team made good progress, successfully covering 90 miles from Santander to a place called Hendaye, France.

The bad news is that this 90-mile journey alone cost $4,800 in fuel.

“I think the main part about what you see of yachting is people parked up at the marinas, doesn’t it? But actually the sailing is quite hard,” Armstrong admitted.

Ouch.

We can already predict what happens next

Mat Armstrong built his channel around car restoration content.

But – and this is the key component here – there are elements to believe that the key word here is ‘restoration’, not ‘cars’.

For some reason, there’s something about restoring old, broken stuff – be it a house, an abandoned yacht, or a car – that appeals to a certain type of audience.

It’s like a formula, and you can apply it to practically anything.

Or certainly anything that’s used for transportation anyway.

So he’s done cars, he’s done hypercars, he’s done yachts – what’s next?

Our guess begins with ‘p’ and ends with ‘rivate jets’.

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