I’ve spent 27 years building a giant 72ft ship in my garden… I’ve spent £1million & my neighbours think I’m crazy

A MAN who spent £1million in 27 years building a giant 72ft ship in his front garden is finally about to set sail.

Holger Bührle, 58, from Au, a municipality southwest of Freiburg, Germany, came up with the crazy idea in 1997 and hasn't looked back since.

With dreams of circumnavigating the world, Bührle has done almost everything himself across the last two-and-a-half decades.

From welding the hull from aluminum plates, casting a keel from twelve tons of lead and panelling the interior with wood, the former nightclub operator is now closing in on completion.

The "Hulg", named after Bührle's former nickname, will be transported to Breisch, a nearby town, with a heavy truck before being lifted into the Rhine.

From there, the Hulg will travel along the major European river to Amsterdam, Netherlands, before setting sail on to the North Sea.

Bührle will then fulfil his lifelong plan of sailing around the world for six years.

“I was always curious and wanted to understand everything around me," he told German outlet .

Prior to building the boat, Bührle had been studying theology but gave eventually gave up to devote himself to his passion, sailing.

After failing to find the perfect boat, however, he decided to take it upon himself to build his own.

And after buying a blueprint from a designer in Bremen, it was full steam ahead.

One truck after another rolled into his village, supplying the mini shipyard with aluminium, wood, copper cables and fittings.