Balance Catamarans

Balance Catamarans is a very young shipyard, founded in 2013 by Phil Berman, an American who has always been attracted to sailing, particularly multihulls. In 1979, he was crowned Hobie 14 world champion in South Africa, where he fell in love with the country, its landscapes, and its people. After becoming a professional sailor, he founded The Multihull Company (a 100% multihull brokerage firm) in 2001 and wrote several specialist books. At a time when some might already be considering retirement, Phil wanted to set up a multihull shipyard. An inconclusive initial experience in China prompted him to return to South Africa, where, following a partnership with the builder Nexus Yachts, Balance Catamarans was created in 2013. A second agreement was later signed with Two Oceans Marine in Cape Town.
From the outset, Balance Catamarans has sought to redefine performance, comfort, and innovation. The yard quickly set about steering the industry toward new technological challenges while imposing a unique design, created by Anton du Toit. This renowned naval architect joined Balance’s dream team very early on. In just over 10 years, the brand has managed to launch elegant catamarans now powered by cutting-edge hybrid propulsion systems, all while creating a passionate community of sailors - from seasoned veterans to inspired newbies. Balance doesn’t just build multihulls - they create homes on the water, designed for adventure and the pure pleasure of sailing, yet without ever losing sight of safety.

The Cape Town Showcase Factory

Nestled on the industrial edge of the Port of Cape Town, the 97,000-square-foot (9,000 m²) Two Oceans Marine factory that builds the Balance is presented as a center of excellence - here, innovation and performance converge to redefine and to a certain extent shake up the sometimes-conservative world of yachting under the leadership of the tireless Phil Berman and factory manager Mark Delany. Welcome to the world of Balance Catamarans!
During our exclusive tour of the factory, we discovered how it works: with around 600 craftsmen and engineers on site and up to 15 catamarans in various stages of production, the Balance shipyard is a hive of activity, manufacturing three distinct models: the popular 482 and 442 (soon to be replaced by the 502 and 464) and the Balance 750. This flagship model, which can be customized to suit your desires, is due to splash very soon, and will, of course, be the subject of an article in Multihulls World.
Each catamaran under construction goes through specific stages supervised by dedicated managers like Peter and Shereen, whose names will be familiar to Balance owners. The construction process is as impressive as the finished product. At the heart of the method is undoubtedly the intelligent management of materials. The outer skin is made from a robust composite sandwich that reduces noise while providing excellent protection against external attack (salt, UV rays, etc.), while the interior ...