Craftsmanship

A Special Land
Creates Magic
at Sea

Two oceans, multiple cultures, and a tradition of seafaring coverage in South Africa, where Balance Catamarans are designed and built.

Multihulls have dotted the seas of this country for generations and that means that designers, fabricators, and builders have the experience and skill to match any boat-building country in the world.

Our factory employs craftspeople from multiple generations and cultures, infusing each vessel with character and an artisan’s touch.

Industry-Leading Quality

We engineer and build elegant, contemporary, durable, safe, blue-water performance catamarans that are as easily operated and maintained as possible.

Our hulls and decks are hand-laminated carbon-reinforced thermo-formed closed-cell foam core in either epoxy or vinyl-ester/polyester resins. Our daggerboards, rudders and sliding cockpit doors are built with carbon construction and reinforced and our bulkheads are only foam cored, fully tabbed, and hand-laminated. Tempered glass windows that will not shrink or craze and offer superior visibility in all conditions. Tough and thoughtfully built.

Geoff Fish and Jonathan Paarman work it out

Jarrod Mienie and Johannes Kabane have a bit of fun

“The #1 hull that I inspected was spray finished in a gray blue color and the fairing quality was flawless, not a single bump in her shiny blue hulls. It is hard to imagine the amount of time it took to fabricate tooling that allowed for this, or the amount of time spent fairing her to gain such a finish.” — Multihulls Magazine

Design Philosophy

Engineering and design work hand in hand at Balance. Engineering focusing on solving problems and design bringing livability and grace to the live-aboard performance catamaran.

The best designers focus on how things ought to be. We are no exception. We want design and performance, durability and grace, innovation and practicality. We invented the groundbreaking VersaHelm™ with its four-corners visibility. And designed our signature wave piercing, chine-free, gradual-flare-hull shapes to reduce pitching and enable our catamarans to carry significant cruising payloads at impressive speeds. Handcrafted cabinetry, spacious galleys, luxurious living quarters, capacious bathrooms, and light filled, open-plan salons and cockpits…design that performs.

Simon Mtonga, Austin Marshall, Siyanda Loni, and Marchant Hesse get down to business

Legato Motashabi takes it all in stride

Why South Africa?

  • A culture of sailing and a love of catamarans

  • The rough, unpredictable waters of South Africa forge better sailors and better boats

  • Expertise, parts, and materials procurement are superb. Boat building is 14% of South Africa’s exports, so we have access to many resources to customize your boat to your liking

  • South Africa is a wonderful place to visit, vacation, and enjoy the experience of watching your catamaran come to life

  • For those who aspire to sail their catamaran north upon delivery, they are met with consistent beam winds all the way to the Caribbean

  • South Africa has favored nation trading status with many countries in the world including the United States where Balance Catamarans are imported Duty Free

Lukhanyo Langa, Ntlankanipho Sibesu, Luzuko Mbeki, and Nkosithandile Mhlambeni keep it smooth

Mark Wehrley and Peter Dean share a laugh

Makazole Mhlangani gets the details right

Our Team

Cape Town Team

St. Francis Team

Design Team

Phillip Berman
Co-Designer, USA
Anton du Toit
Co-Designer and Naval Engineering, Cape Town

Leadership Team

Mark Delany
Owner and GM, Cape Town
John Henrick
Owner and Director, St. Francis
Johnathan Paarman
Chief of Production, St. Francis
Roger Paarman
General Manager, St. Francis
Alistair Dickson
General Manager, Cape Town
Gary Arendse
Head of Mechanical Systems, Cape Town
Daryl Staples
Chief Sustainability Officer, St. Francis
James Cook
Chief Electrical Engineer, Cape Town
Mark Wehrley
Chief Project Manager, Cape Town
Patrick Roscoe
VP of Customer Experience, USA
Peter Dean
Customer Liaison, Chief Procurement Officer, Cape Town
Shervone Bruyns
Accounting, Cape Town
Myck Juber
Warranty and Service Manager
Amber Russell
Supervisor, Warranty Support, St. Francis
Thabit Jassiem
Head of Carpentry, Cape Town
Kim Siddall
Manager, Finance & Admin, St. Francis
Margaret Hannie
Laminating Manager, Cape Town
Shereen Robertson
Projects Co-Ordinator, Cape Town
Geoff Fish
Superintendent, Composite Specialist, St. Francis
Max MacLean
Superintendent, Assembly, St. Francis
Andrew Butler
Superintendent, Carpentry, St. Francis
Johannes Kabane
Supervisor, Internal Construction, St. Francis
Marchant Hesse
Supervisor, Fairing and Painting, St. Francis
Warren Russell
Supervisor, Marine Systems, St. Francis
Joe Landman
Yacht Management, Delivery Skipper & Sail Training
Bianca Paarman
Media Manager & Content Creator
Anne Gordon
Marketing, USA
Kayla Keating
Customer & Community Specialist, USA