Students might have noticed an aquatic oddity on campus this fall. Under Carleton’s Architecture Building lies Decision: a 50-year-old scrap sailboat being repaired by Matthew Gillard for his master’s thesis.
Gillard’s thesis in architecture explores the benefits of repairing and restoring old sailboats. The wind-powered boat is a sustainable alternative to other modes of transportation that can function as a living space. When the project is done, he said the boat should be able to comfortably house up to two people.
“Sailing is very different from RVs or tiny houses or trailers or vans. All of those require some form of fossil fuels to make them mobile,” Gillard said. “There’s a wealth of [scrap sailboats] out there that are a potential part of the solution to the housing crisis.”
View this post on Instagram
Gillard bought the 27-foot long Catalina sailboat in Kingston, Ont. on Facebook for only $1,000. The sails did not come with the sailboat.
Gillard had to track down the original owners of the boat to buy the sails from them. He added the family who originally owned Decision lost the boat when it was repossessed after the grandfather passed away.
“It was sold at auction and then sat around for years and was eventually bought by the owner before me,” Gillard said.
He said the couple who owned the boat were planning on repairing it but stopped after having a baby. Gillard documents his own repairs on his Youtube channel and Instagram, Sailing Decision.
He said power boating had always been a part of his life, but his interest in sailing started because his wife and her family own a sailboat.
“I really gained an interest in sailing, not only as a form of leisure or transportation, but as an interesting form of housing,” Gillard said.
Gabriella Gillard, a graduate of Carleton’s communications and media program and Matthew’s wife, helps to repair the sailboat.
“I’ve been sailing since pretty much before I can remember,” Gabriella said. “I was raised in the summers on the water.”
Gillard said he plans on selling the sailboat’s gasoline engine and replacing it with a more sustainable alternative. He is also considering using an electric motor from a forklift as an alternative engine due to their similarity in horsepower. Removing the motor completely is not possible, since some mechanical propulsion is needed to safely dock sailboats.
Gillard plans to finish repairs in time to defend his master’s thesis in May. When Decision is ship shape, he said he plans to take the boat through the Rideau Canal and down to Lake Ontario. Gillard added he and Gabriella might eventually live on the sailboat.
“[Sailing Decision] is about teaching people that repairs are worth doing,” he said. “I think that the architecture community and the community at large can learn from that.”
Featured photo provided by Matthew Gillard.
