With 40 hulls on order since its 2022 debut the Balance 442 is a remarkable success
The Balance 482 has achieved 27 knots under sail yet its interior looks and feels like a luxury yacht
‘Jon Paarman and I were surfers first,
sailors second,’ Berman says. ‘Beach rats. We were drawn to Hobie Cats and the Hobie lifestyle because Hobie designed them to both sail and surf. Paarman and I did not learn to sail at a yacht club, we were self-taught like so many of those who bought Hobie Cats. Hobie Cat regattas took place off beaches. It was an unpretentious, casual, fun, laid back egalitarian lifestyle. Hobie cats did not have to be manicured like most racing boats. They were durable, tough, and could handle the abuse of hard sailing and surfing. Paarman was living the Hobie lifestyle in South Africa while I was living it in Southern California. We lived a world away from each other but danced to the same Hobie beat.’ Before they discovered those strands
of common heritage, it was the quality of the Paarmans’ first boat, exhibited at Annapolis Boat Show, that sparked Berman’s interest. ‘I knew I had to design a catamaran from the ground up, with a trusted design partner, and to have it built by serious sailor/builders with deep roots in composite catamaran fabrication,’ he explains. ‘When I met them and saw the craftsmanship of the first boat they built I knew instantly we would be a good fit for each other. And Anton Du Toit and I hit it off together immediately. He was a
listener and a collaborator.’ All Balance Catamarans share a strong, distinctive DNA that stems from Berman’s concepts and draws on the experience of Du Toit, Jonathan Paarman and others. ‘Most critically we involve the build teams to discuss the design and how it impacts the actual tooling and fabrication process,’ Berman says, ‘because it is one thing to have a pretty boat on paper, quite another to build it well and in the most cost effective fashion.’ On the water, Balance Catamarans
achieve the elusive combination of excellent performance in a broad range of wind and sea conditions, onmost points of sail, with good payload-carrying ability. Upwind VMG is a particular strength, thanks to twomain factors. Deep daggerboards allow these boats to point at least seven degrees higher thanmost other cats whilemaintaining good boatspeed, and careful weight distribution reduces fore-and-aft pitching to aminimum. Another factor in the brand’s success
is a game-changing innovation: the VersaHelm. ‘We were the first to offer this 90-degree pivoting helm station,’ Berman explains. ‘It enables our customers to sail up top in fair weather, with four corners sight lines of both bows and sterns, and offers the same four corners visibility, along with total weather protection,
Balance Cats’ key concepts
Phillip Berman and Anton du Toit explain the principles that define the brand First sailing must be made as easy as possible. Far too many performance oriented cats are overly complicated, just to achieve marginal performance gains. Keep it simple is a driving mantra for us. Second, a yacht must be designed and
crafted to sail in the worst weather and to offer superb protection at the helm no matter how rainy or cold it may be – or how hot and sunny. Sight lines from helm stations should offer 360-degree visibility. Third, sailingmust be as comfortable
as possible, under way or at anchor. A cruising yachtmust sail well on all points of sail and offer the smoothest possible ride in a wide range of sea states. A well designed catmust also have superb bedrooms, galley, heads and showers, and carry a considerable amount of cabinetry to cleanly stow clothing and themany things we carry on a live-aboard boat. Finally, a well-built catamaran is a thing
of beauty. There’s nothingmore frustrating than to own a yacht of poor quality. A lower price is quickly forgotten as you suffer the stings of shoddy craftsmanship. We use wave piercing bows with hulls
�
that widen aft and flare up considerably from the waterline. Our cats are beamier thanmost to allow larger sailplans. They have good bridgedeck clearance without undue freeboard which adds windage and poorer performance to windward. Our designs’ performance at medium
and higher speeds has been meticulously optimised through careful allocation of volume in the hulls. The rocker is adjusted and shaped for optimal interaction and handling across various sea states. These enhancements allow the boat to sail with minimal disturbance and turbulence, giving a smooth and efficient sailing experience. Using our optimised foil sections and
The first two Balance 580s, built in St Francis, are due to be launched in 2024
planforms, our high-aspect rudders and daggerboards offer exceptional sailing performance in upwind conditions. When running downwind and surfing in brisk conditions with the boards raised three- quarters they steer and track superbly.
SEAHORSE 85
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