Staff Profile – Andrew Butler, aka “Chippy”

Andrew is a real Balance Legend, having joined the team at Balance Catamarans in St Francis when we first started building the Balance 526 in 2014. As his nickname suggests, Andrew runs the Carpentry Department at Balance in St Francis.

Andrew’s background is nothing short of impressive: sailing and multihulls are in his blood – he grew up sailing with his family on his dad’s various trimarans, and they in fact lived on a trimaran for a year. As an adult, he has made a valuable contribution to sailing in South Africa – amongst other things, he has held the position of Commodore of Redhouse Yacht Club and brought the RS Tera into South Africa and founded the Tera class in the country.

Andrew always had a passion for woodwork, and after school he studied carpentry and furniture making through the Furniture Industry Training Board. He spent 20 years working for big furniture factories in South Africa, before founding his own carpentry and shop fitting business and fitting out over 80 kitchens and high-end offices. He also did some work on fishing vessel interiors before getting a call to join the team in St Francis. The rest is great Balance history.

Andrew is known for the incredible quality of his work and dedication to what he does. He turns a semi-custom Balance 526 interior around with his team in eight weeks, and his work is perfection. 

Combining his love for carpentry and sailing and boats means Andrew is constantly in his happy place.