The Story
The initial inspiration for the Balance 526 arose from our passion to design and build, from the ground up, the finest performance voyaging catamaran ever conceived for a couple or small family who really want to go places in speed and comfort yet carry significant cruising payloads. We set out to design the 526 to be simple to operate, to maintain, and enormously gracious to live on.
Comfort and Performance
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Balance 526 Caribbean Rally
Watch the Balance 526 Catamarans "Alani", "Ondine Blue" and "Galileo" hit the water in this amazing footage from the Balance Catamarans Caribbean Rally
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The Balance 526 Goes For a Sail
Go out for a sail on the Balance 526 Hull #1 "Ondine Blue" in this sailing footage taken shortly after the launch of the boat in South Africa.
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Balance 526 "Galileo" Goes Sailing
The Balance 526 "Galileo" hits the water at the Balance Catamarans Caribbean Rally in Tortola.
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Balance 526 Interior Tour
Take a tour inside the Balance 526 "Ondine Blue" shortly after her launch in South Africa.
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Balance 526 Features Tour - Part 1
Balance Catamarans Founder and President Phillip Berman takes you on a tour of some of the features of the Balance 526.
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Balance 526 Features Tour - Part 2
Balance Catamarans Founder and President Phillip Berman takes you on a tour of some of the features onboard the Balance 526
Photo Gallery
Cutting Edge Technology
Our design and build philosophy at Balance Catamarans is simple: Improve on the proven, innovate when required. As the inventors of the ground-breaking Versa Helm design we know how to push the envelope, but we never go against our prime directive – BUILD THE FINEST, MOST EASILY OPERATED, BULLET PROOF PERFORMANCE VOYAGING CATAMARANS POSSIBLE.
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Introducing The Balance VersaHelm
There are many things that set a Balance Catamaran apart, but one of the the first things people notice when stepping aboard a Balance is the innovative new Versa-Helm.
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The New Balance Cockpit and Helm Station
Balance Catamarans President takes you on a tour of the newly design Balance 526 Cockpit and helm station.
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Our Electrical System
Balance Catamarans President Phillip Berman discusses the Balance Catamaran electrical systems and all of the details that set a Balance apart.
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Integrel Systems and Balance Catamarans
Balance Catamarans recently teamed up with Integrel Solutions to incorporate their innovative energy system into our newest catamarans.
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Balance Solar Panel Set Up
Balance Catamarans President Phillip Berman discusses how to best utilize solar on a Balance Catamaran.
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Balance Performance Rigging and Sails
Balance Catamarans President Phil Berman sits down with Tich Mitchell of Sparcraft and Anton DuToit to discuss going with a carbon set up on your Balance catamaran.
Specs
Base, sail away price for the Balance 526 begins at $1,620,000.00 FOB our South African Factory. A fully cruise equipped model runs approximately $1,950,000.00 FOB our South African Factory. For a full list of standard 526 equipment and a detailed options pricing list, please click here.
Overall Length
52.50ft / 16.00m
Waterline Length
51.31ft / 15.639m
Beam Overall
27.17ft / 8.26m
Main Sail
1141 ft2 / 106 m2
Working Self-Tacking Jib
461 ft2 / 43m2
Sail Area (100% Foretriangle)
1690ft2 / 157.1m2
Asymmetric Spinnaker
2582 ft2 / 240 m2
Draft
Boards Down: 7.07ft / 2.160m
Boards Up: 3.68ft / 1.12m
Keel Version: 4.5ft / 1.37m
Air Draft / Mast Clearance
78.53ft / 23.93m
Bridgedeck Clearance
2.89ft / 0.88m
DISP (L/Ship)
26,455lbs / 12,000kgs (Keel Version)
26,565lbs / 12,050 (Daggerboard Version)
DAVIT LOAD & DINGHY
The 526 davits are designed to take a safe load of 400 kgs (882 lbs) per davit arm.
Suggested dinghy is the AB Inflatables 13ALX at 3.96m (13’) at an estimated weight of 169 kgs (373 lbs) with a recommended 30hp outboard at 85 kgs (187 lbs). Total weight of rig = 255 kgs (562 lbs).
Screacher/Reacher
1159 ft2 / 108m2
Yanmar 4JH57 x SD 60
2× 57 HP / 2×43 kW
Fuel Capacity
2×130 gals / 2×500 liters
Fresh Water Capacity
2×103 gals / 2×390 litres
Black Water Capacity
2×16 gals / 2×60 litres
Maximum Displacement
34,450lbs / 15,625kg
Maximum Cruising Payload
6,890lbs / 3,125kgs
Designers
Phillip Berman and Anton Du Toit
Exceptional Build Quality
We use the finest resins, epoxies, foam cores, fiberglass and carbon products available in the world today. Our yachts are built with a combination of resin infusion or vacuum bagged techniques. We use only foam composite bulkheads, foam cores, and all of our furniture and cabinets are made with cored, sandwich construction. We use carbon fiber heavily in all of the high load areas of our yachts and custom fabricate many of our own glass/carbon components – including davits, bimini posts, doors, bimini tops, etc. Every move we make at Balance is focused on producing the lightest, strongest, stiffest catamaran we can possibly build..
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Foam Core Done Right
Balance President Phillip Berman takes you through the Balance Catamarans factory to give you an in depth look at our foam core process.
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How We Use Carbon Fiber
Balance Catamaran President Phillip Berman takes you on a tour of a Balance Catamaran currently under build to guide you throw where and how we use Carbon Fiber.
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Keeping Our Boats Lightweight
Balance Catamarans President Phillip Berman takes you inside the factory and guides you one of the aspects that make a Balance Catamaran special, our lightweight framing for our solar panels.
Layouts
- 3 cabin owners version. Owner master berth starboard forward, owner master shower aft. Queen berth forward on port side with double bed aft. There can be one or two heads on port side, depending on customer choice
- 3 cabin owner version with office to port. Owner master berth to starboard forward, owner master shower aft. Queen berth forward on port side, with single berth/office combination aft.
- 2 cabin double owner version, where both port and starboard hulls are private owner suites.
- Four cabin, four head version
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Four cabin two head version
Ordering A Balance Catamaran
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What Color Do You Want?
Balance Catamarans President Phillip Berman discusses your color choices when buying a Balance catamaran.
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The Balance Catamarans Warranty
Balance Catamarans President Phillip Berman and Roger Paarman walk you through the details of the Balance Warranty and how we work with customers to resolve issues.
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How To Order A Balance Catamaran
Balance Catamarans President Phillip Berman and Roger Paarman discuss the process of ordering a new Balance Catamaran.
Read What Experts Are Saying About The 526
Want to learn more about the Balance 526? Read what experts from around the world have come to learn about the Balance 526 after test sails and inspections on this special cat by visiting our media page.
“In addition to being a yacht of the finest quality, the new “Versahelm” design of the Balance 526 is so elegant, wise and functional one wonders why nobody thought to do it before…”
Have Questions? Contact us!
