Fire is arguably the greatest threat to any vessel at sea. While catamarans have the well-known advantage of being virtually unsinkable — their foam-core construction means they float even if capsized or holed — a fire changes everything. If your boat is burning, it can no longer serve as your life raft.
That single reality has shaped many of the design decisions we’ve made at Balance, particularly when it comes to our electrical and energy systems.
The Case Against Propane
When you look at the history of catastrophic fires on boats, propane is almost invariably the culprit. It’s been the leading cause of serious marine fire incidents for years. That’s why we made the decision early on to move to 48-volt all-lithium systems with electric cooktops and electric grills, making our boats completely propane-free.
Eliminating propane removes one of the most significant fire risks on board — and it’s a decision we haven’t looked back on.
Getting Lithium Right
Of course, lithium systems come with their own considerations. In the early years of lithium on boats, there were legitimate concerns. Some battery management software wasn’t as refined as it needed to be, inverter chargers had teething issues, and there were some early lithium fire incidents that gave the industry pause.
Today, when lithium fires do occur on boats, they’re almost always the result of aftermarket installations where components have been mixed and matched without proper system design. That’s one of our strongest convictions at Balance: a lithium system must be designed comprehensively. No mixing and matching. You either commit to a full MasterVolt system or a full Victron system, with every component coordinated and working together. Our electricians spend countless hours designing systems that meet that standard.
The inverter chargers play a critical safety role here — they’re designed to shut off in an overcharge situation, acting as a key safeguard in the overall system.
Bringing in Outside Expertise
A couple of years ago, we took the additional step of hiring Nigel Calder, a highly respected marine electrician and author, to conduct compliance surveys of our electrical systems and offer best-practice recommendations. We were pleased to come through with strong results, but we still benefited from his insights, which we incorporated into subsequent builds.
With new regulatory changes on the horizon — and our move into hybrid drives with Integral on some models — we’re continuing to revisit and refine our systems. All of it has to be treated as a single, comprehensive system from a safety perspective. There are no shortcuts.
Design That Puts Safety First
Great electrical systems aren’t just about the components — they’re about how everything is built, accessed, and maintained. Walk around a Balance catamaran and you’ll notice the quality of the wiring, the accessibility of breakers and panels, and the thorough labeling throughout. When something needs attention, you can find it and get to it quickly.
The same philosophy applies to fire safety equipment. Fire extinguishers are placed in every critical location, each one clearly marked with a red label on the cabinet so that anyone on board — even a guest who’s never been below deck — can find one immediately. We also fit smoke alarms throughout and fire ports in the engine rooms.
Importantly, all of this gear is designed into the boat from the start. Everything has a dedicated home that keeps it accessible without getting in the way of daily life on board.
When Seconds Count: A Personal Story
Knowing where your safety equipment is might sound obvious, but in a real emergency it’s everything. Phil learned this firsthand years ago aboard a performance catamaran during the Newport to Anapolis race. Arriving at three in the morning, he was backing up the outboard engine when it caught fire. In the chaos, the crew scrambled to locate the fire extinguisher — all while a friend who was a paraplegic sat in the salon, unable to move, looking at Phil and saying he’d have no way out if the boat burned.
They found the extinguisher in time. But the lesson stuck: in a fire, everything happens fast, and you need to be able to reach your safety gear without thinking.
The Takeaway
That experience is also why we’re strong advocates for regular safety drills — not just fire drills, but man-overboard drills too. Practise on your own boat, with your own crew, so that when something goes wrong, the response is instinct rather than panic.
Whether it’s eliminating propane, designing lithium systems with zero compromise, or simply making sure every fire extinguisher has a clearly marked home, it all comes back to one principle: safety has to be built in from the ground up.
