A note on this guide: this is an earlier edition, filmed when every Balance was built at our St Francis yard — before we expanded to a second South African yard in Cape Town. We've added a few notes to reflect where things stand today, but the process has continued to evolve and there's more to the picture than this covers. An updated guide is on the way; in the meantime, get in touch and we'll happily walk you through how it works now.
If you’re seriously considering a Balance, you’re probably already past the boat show stage. You’ve watched the videos, you’ve talked to owners, you’ve narrowed it down. What happens now?
This is a walkthrough of the build process — from first inquiry to the day your boat sails out of St Francis Bay on her way to Cape Town for the final commissioning leg before delivery. It’s the conversation we have with every buyer, just written down.
Step 1 — The Inquiry
Most of our buyers come to us through one of three doors: a boat show (Annapolis, Miami, Cannes, La Grande-Motte), a referral from an existing owner, or our website and YouTube channel.
Wherever you start, the first phase is conversation. We’ll answer questions, send you specifications, put you in touch with current owners if you’d like to hear unfiltered impressions, and — if you can — get you out for a sea trial on a Balance. There’s no substitute for stepping aboard.
A Balance is a significant decision and we’re not trying to rush it. Buyers who take time at this stage make better decisions later.
Step 2 — The Refundable Deposit
When you’re ready to move from “interested” to “engaged,” we ask for a $50,000 refundable deposit. This goes into an escrow account in the United States.
What this gives you is the contract — a document that specifies the exact hull you’re buying, when the build begins, and when it completes. You then have roughly three weeks to review the contract, ask questions, and decide whether to sign. If you don’t sign, the deposit comes back.
This step matters because it secures your build slot and starts the planning. Hulls are scheduled, materials lead times are calendared, and your boat starts to become a real thing on the factory floor planning sheet.
Step 3 — Signing and the First Stage Payment
If you sign, the structure is:
- 5% on signing
- 30% about a month before the build begins (this is when we start procuring components specifically for your boat)
- Further stage payments at hull/deck/bulkhead completion, mechanical and electrical installation, and final commissioning
Every Balance is built to order. Your engines, your sails, your electronics, your solar, your interior finishes — these are all ordered against your specific hull, set aside, and installed on your boat. We don’t build stock and sell from inventory. That’s why these stage payments matter: each one funds the next phase of your build.
Step 4 — The Specification Conversation
This is the part most buyers enjoy most.
We publish a range of suggested interior packages — the Classic, the Moderna, and several others — designed to give you a starting point. Mark Fuller worked with us on these schemes and they’re considered. But in practice, almost no buyer takes one as-is. Everyone tweaks something — a different fabric, a different wood, a different countertop, a different hull colour.
That’s where Roger Paarman and Royden Heine come in. They handle the spec process for the St Francis-built boats — they’ll sit with you, often in South Africa during a visit, and walk through every decision: fabrics, floors, hull colour, cabinetry, the layouts you want, the equipment options you’re considering. For our Cape Town-built boats, Peter Dean and Shereen Robertson are the equivalents — they’ll take you through exactly the same conversation directly with the team building your boat.
The 526, 540 and 580 are built at Nexus Yachts in St Francis. Our other models (442, 464, 482, 502) are built in Cape Town. Wherever your boat is being built, the spec conversation happens directly with the team building it. That’s deliberate.
Step 5 — Decisions, Early vs Late
A piece of advice from Roger that’s worth repeating: the more decisions you make early, the smoother the build.
Anything is possible mid-build — changing a fabric, swapping a piece of equipment, reconfiguring a cabin — but every late change slows things down. Components on order have to be cancelled. Materials already cut have to be remade. Schedule gets pushed.
So we encourage buyers to spend time at the front of the process: get clear on layouts, finishes, and major equipment. Smaller cosmetic things can be tweaked later without much pain.
Step 6 — Watching the Build
During construction, you’ll receive videos, photographs, and updates as the boat progresses through each stage. Most owners want to be involved. Many fly out to South Africa once or twice during the build — to see the boat at hull completion, to check the interior at fit-out, to be there for the launch.
Some of our buyers come with a specific reason: to make their material and finish choices in person, with samples in hand. Others come simply because watching your boat take shape is one of the great pleasures of ordering a new build. There’s no obligation. But the door’s open.
Step 7 — Launch Day
This is one of the best days in the calendar at St Francis.
There are no overhead wires between our factory and Port St Francis, which means we can step the mast at the factory, rig the boat fully, then walk her — slowly — down to the harbour with a tractor in front and a front-end loader at the back as a brake. It takes about ninety minutes.
The whole town comes out. St Francis is a small resort town and they’re proud of these boats. There’s almost always a procession of owners, family, factory team, and townspeople walking alongside. If you’re around for it, walk with us.
The boat splashes at our own dock, and the commissioning starts.
Step 8 — Commissioning and the Cape Town Sail
We spend roughly two weeks at the dock running every system through its paces — sea trials, electronics commissioning, sail trim, engine break-in. When the team is satisfied, your boat is ready for her first real passage.
Port St Francis isn’t a clearance port. To clear out of South Africa, you go either to Cape Town or to Richard’s Bay. We sail to Cape Town — roughly 700 kilometres along one of the world’s more demanding coastlines. We wait for the weather window. When it’s right, we go.
Often a factory team member sails with you. The best run we’ve done is 32 hours — that was Mark’s boat, averaging 263 nautical miles a day. Most are slower. All are deliberately planned around a 48 to 50-hour weather gap.
In Cape Town, the engines get their 50-hour service, the agents based there do a final equipment check, and the boat is prepped for her international leg.
Step 9 — Delivery
From Cape Town, your options are:
- Sail her yourself. Some buyers do this and love it.
- Hire a delivery captain. Many do.
- Bring your own captain and sail with them.
- Ship her on a yacht transport vessel.
Most owners sail. It’s a downwind passage to the South Atlantic trades, then a reach toward Northern Brazil and onward to Grenada. Many stop at St Helena — it’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime calls. Fernando de Noronha is worth a stop too if you have the time.
A Last Note
After dozens of builds, most boats are coming out of the factory roughly 90% the same. The customization that matters most to owners is in fabrics, floors, cabinetry, and the small details that make a boat feel like theirs. The big architectural choices — the VersaHelm, the layouts, the rig, the sail plan — have settled into configurations that just work.
But every boat is still built for one owner, to one spec, by people who know the boat’s name and the buyer’s story before the first sheet of glass is laid.
If you’re ready to start that conversation, get in touch.
Stay in balance.
