PROFILE: SCOTTY MILLAR

Two years ago, he was front-page news. Today, Scotty Millar is still looking

for someone to help finance his “brilliant ideas, better solutions.” He keeps a binder, several inches thick, full of them.

Millar is an entrepreneur and an in-ventor. He might even call himself a vi-sionary. “I have so many ideas in my head because I’m one of those people blessed or cursed with vision. I see ahead, always.”

In November 2005, the Chroni-cle-Herald ran a 455-word cover story about Millar’s “almost indestructible” houseboat, the Sea Cat.

Millar designed and built the boat us-ing a plastic composite made of recycled grocery bags. A Quebec company holds a patent on the material that is mainly used for deck-ing. Millar is convinced the material has much broader applications.

Millar says he received only one call from a potential financier after the story ran.

And the Herald story wasn’t the first time Millar made the news. In 1999, the Guardian in Charlottetown printed almost 1900 words on the Sea Cat’s dramatic voy-age from Prince Edward Island to St. Mar-garet’s Bay.

It’s easy to see why. Millar has a cer-tain charm about him. He’s 68-years-old. He speaks using an electrolarnyx held against his throat. The mechanical-sound-ing speech it produces couldn’t be more at odds with his animated personality.

He’s almost exactly what you might ex-pect from an inventor living in rural Nova Scotia, if only you had any idea what to expect.

Drive down Herring Cove Road. Drive out past Spryfield. Drive through Harri-etsfield and Williamswood. Keep going. When you get to the tiny community of

Sambro, that’s where you’ll find Millar.Sambro is one of those fascinating

little fishing communities that dot Nova Scotia’s coast. It’s only 24 km from the Armdale rotary, but it’s small enough to have a store called “The Store.”

Millar runs the Dock and Dory Restaurant and Marina. He lives in the rear

section of the brown, weathered building. His face is round and rosy. Dark, blue eyes peer out from behind dou-ble-barred glasses. His white hair and beard

are cropped short. Still, there’s something wild and untamed about his appearance.

It could be the layers of but-toned-down, heavy corduroy shirts he wears as he scurries out of a room stuffed with bookshelves, filled with notes and binders, that stretch all the way up to the ceiling. It could be the knowing smile etched beneath his beard. It could even be the mosaic of graph-paper covered with plans for some new invention taped to the

floral wallpaper behind him. Or maybe it’s just the thermostat behind him – the one set to 17°C on a chilly December after-noon.

This might not be the place you’d ex-pect to see technology, energy efficiency and cost effectiveness come together in new shapes and forms. But Millar says that’s exactly what he’s done with his de-sign for a house that’s easy to build and virtually maintenance free.

He boasts that his house can achieve an R-value of 100 using only 2x4 boards for the framing. “If the power goes out on an Eco-ra home, it will take one week before the temperature inside the home drops two degrees,” Millar proudly ex-plains.

And that’s not all. Millar says his house would cost 30% less than traditional hous-es to build. On top of that, the roof would never need to be repaired or replaced in the owner’s lifetime. “If that’s not revo-lutionary, I don’t know what the hell is!” says Millar of his invention.

“Without the village, you don’t have a villager,” says inventor Scotty Millar.Millar would like to see governments take a more active role in recognizing,

supporting and developing the strengths of individuals. The only way to do this, says Millar, is by building a strong sense of community. “It’s the little people in your nation that count. Those are the people that are your strength, your dignity and your future. Not big guys.”

Millar looks to China and the United States as examples of nations that recognize individual contributions while focusing on the big picture. “We don’t need money, per se. We need an attitude that says, okay, here’s a good idea from Joe Blow. Let’s develop that so that we all profit in every aspect.”

BrilliantIDEAS,

SOLUTIONSBY JONATHAN STRIGHT

Better

PHOTO: Scotty Millar, 68, poses with a sample of a recycled plastic building material he’s used to design boats and houses. Credit: Jonathan Stright

“I have so many ideas in my head because I’m one of those people blessed or cursed with vision. I see ahead, always.”

Millar has drawn up all the plans and the Eco-Ra house is ready to build. But right now, the closest this idea has come to fruition is in the shin-high Bristol-board model sitting on the floor of his study.

Once again, Millar needs money.It’s an obstacle. But Millar isn’t one

to let anything stand in his way. He’s had enough successes in his time to be able to deal with the setbacks in stride.

In the late 1980s, Millar and a partner invented the Ezee-up Bathtub Lift. That invention uses water pressure to lift a per-son into and out of a bathtub. The lift was recognized by the Canadian government as one of the most innovative inventions of the year.

Around that same time, the National Research Council invited Millar to speak about a voice amplifier he invented. Al-most a decade later, the Council helped fund the Sea Cat prototype. And Millar is always on the lookout for new opportu-nities.

Aside from running the Dock and Dory Marina in Sambro, Millar is intro-ducing an engine diagnostic product, which was invented in Germany, to the North American market.

Motor Checkup is a “revolutionary test product for checking the health of your engine,” according to the website.

And you really couldn’t expect any-thing less from someone with such grand aspirations. “When I see something, I relate it to tomorrow. Then, I sit down and try to be innovative because of the vision [I have] and then I try to change the world.”

There’s a homemade copy of Max Eh-

PHOTO: The Dock and Dory Restaurant and Marina in Sambro, NS. Credit: Jonathan Stright

Jonathan Stright wrote this article as part of an internship with the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Net-work (Nova Scotia). The Network has about 600 members, including Scotty Millar. Visit ednns.ca for more information.

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“Keep interested in your own career, however humble;it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.Exercise caution in your business affairs;for the world is full of trickery.But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;many persons strive for high ideals;and everywhere life is full of heroism.…With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,it is still a beautiful world.Be cheerful.Strive to be happy. Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, 1952

rmann’s “Desiderata” framed in the kitch-en of Millar’s home. It’s an inspirational poem that acknowledges the realities of day-to-day life that often threaten to stand in the way of happiness. “Those princi-ples will keep you strong,” says Millar. “Life is all about inspiration. You have to be inspired to be strong.”

Millar acknowledges that isn’t always enough. “Support is what you need in life,” he says. And with the right support, Millar hopes his “brilliant ideas, better solutions” will help make the world a bet-ter place. ¤

Visit Scotty Millar’s websites:

www.dockndory.cawww.motorcheckup.ca