- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- Hollywood, Florida, United States
- Shipyard location
- St. Francis Bay and Cape Town, South Africa
- Official website
- https://balancecatamarans.com/
Brand Overview
American-founded builder of performance sailing catamarans, established in 2013 by Phillip Berman, with boats built by partner yards in Saint Francis and Cape Town, South Africa.
Overview written frombalancecatamarans.com/about-2/read 9/12/2026
YachtCodex Analysis
AI-generatedAn independent reading of this builder written by AI. Unlike the specifications and descriptions elsewhere on this page, it is interpretation rather than a sourced fact — treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
What this builder is
Balance Catamarans is a performance-oriented sailing catamaran builder founded in 2013 by Phillip Berman and designer Anton du Toit, positioned in the high-performance/semi-custom segment of the cruising catamaran market. Its boats are built by partner yards in South Africa (Nexus Yachts in St. Francis and a Cape Town facility), distinguishing it from mass-production catamaran brands through a design-and-performance focus.
Who sails them
Buyers are typically experienced sailors or couples/small crews seeking a fast, blue-water-capable performance catamaran for long-distance cruising or liveaboard use, often ordering semi-custom builds rather than off-the-shelf production boats.
Signature models
Balance 464, 502, 540, 580, and 750 are the current model range; the 540 and 580 are built by Nexus Yachts in St. Francis, while the 464, 502, and 750 are built by Balance Catamarans Cape Town.
Strengths
Balance is widely regarded for performance-focused catamaran design, high build quality via experienced South African composite yards, and close designer involvement (Anton du Toit) in every hull.
Considerations
Balance boats are built at multiple partner yards in South Africa (Nexus Yachts, Two Oceans-linked Cape Town facility) rather than a single owned factory, which can mean longer lead times, semi-custom build variability, and pricing at the premium end of the performance-cruiser cat market.
Analysis generated 9/13/2026
Part of
Where they build
The building sites this yard publishes, in its own order.
Nexus Yachts
Saint Francis, South Africa
Builders of the Balance 540 and 580
Balance Catamarans Cape Town
Cape Town, South Africa
Craft the Balance 464, 502, and 750
Fleet at a Glance
Calculated from the models in the YachtCodex catalog, not from the builder's claims.
- Models in catalog
- 8
- Length range
- 13.5–23.19 m
- Hull forms
- Sailing Catamaran 8
- Cabins
- 3–6
Models by this brand
8 models
Balance 442
LOA: 13.5 m
Balance 464
LOA: 14.19 m
Balance 482
LOA: 14.71 m
Balance 502
LOA: 15.25 m
Balance 526
LOA: 16 m
Balance 540
LOA: 16.61 m
Balance 580
LOA: 17.78 m
Balance 750
LOA: 23.19 m