"touts themselves as something of a racing boat"........)) I was at a boatshow recently and went on board one of "those" boats, a newly released model. I asked to look behind a few panels in the saloon and what I saw looked as though it has been installed by a chimp, a blind one, and the engine bays looked as though they had been put together by that blind chimp's lesser-skilled cousin. Shame really as the hull itself is pretty good. I'm two promotions away from being able to afford a 482, watching your videos is the only thing that keeps me plugging away in the industry of cutthroats that I work in (IT Sales).. I'll be in touch eventually.
Hi Phil, Thanks for a superbly cogent argument for the philosophy and design choices you're made for finding a balance of performance and comfort. It's well reflected in the outcome of the boats. They're also so beautiful. Maybe that's a consequence of the thought and vision behind them, but it's also a result of your style. Did you ever study art and in particular classicism? You also make a very strong case for the durability and practical/functional quality of the boats. Really like that they're designed to retain more of their performance when they get realistic loadings of cruising stuff. Yes, they won't be quite as fast as an empty cruising racer, but likely no one actually cruises nearly empty. Not everyone gets it. That's ok. Different people can like different things. One thing you may want to address in a separate video is how you're managing the business side of the very strong growth. Many companies have failed due to undercontrolled growth. I expect you folks have a balanced approach to keeping that well-trimmed. But customers will want to be comfortable with the company's financial health.
I obtained my master's degree in the philosophy of religion at Harvard. The study of art has also been a lifelong passion and my wife and I are actively involved in art circles. One of the prettiest things about the Balance came about accidentally - the Versa-helm removes the needs for an unsightly pop up helm enclosure. A Balance at anchor is so clean and pretty compared to most cats. But of course she's my baby so I'm imbued with the bias of a parent! "You also make a very strong case for the durability and practical/functional quality of the boats. ....." PB: You are correct. Designing a fast catamaran is really quite easy. The hard part is designing one that accurately accounts for the equipment and payloads and build weight. Skin friction increases dramatically with load on narrow performance hulls, so it is always a balancing act! But in the end it is the hundreds of little decisions you make that all add up to either a great boat or a mediocre one. The part I most enjoy about my work is this focus on the little details that lead to excellence. Anton and I have had a great partnership on these designs. "Not everyone gets it. That's ok. Different people can like different things." PB: There is no perfect boat. At Balance we just have a specific focus and philosophy and stick with it. We do our best to stay within the confines of our prime objectives. You cannot be everything for everyone. "One thing you may want to address in a separate video is how you're managing the business side of the very strong growth...." PB: We are solid as a rock financially because we've grown slowly and organically and scaled carefully. We also prudently stop taking fixed priced orders when our production is out too far to be sure we are not stung by inflation. That said, we are poised for growth and so long as the public loves our products we would be foolish not to carry on that growth. It will mean more service, more support globally, more customer events, a better customer experience all around. Take care and thanks for your kind words about Balance. Very much appreciated.
Just wonder why you favor Eglass over Sglass? Sglass apparently is superior to Eglass albeit at a extra cost. It apparently doesn't conduct electricity, and for whatever reason doesnt get the dreaded osmosis.
The reason we do not use S-glass at Balance is that it is about 30% to 40% more expensive than E-Glass and harder to get in the supply chain. It is stronger than E-Glass by about 35% but only marginally stiffer. We and most builders therefore just go straight to carbon fiber as you are only paying a bit more but gaining even better and stiffness properties than S-glass. In the end, our E-glass, heavily carbon reinforced boats offer the best value for a performance oriented catamaran. And for those who want more carbon, or all carbon, we offer that in 526 and larger models at an additional cost. The largest negative to all carbon hulls is that they are very stiff and rather noisy at high speeds. So many of our super performance minded buyers elect to go with e-glass hulls and a range of the carbon enhancements we offer if shedding even more weight is the goal. As we like to say at Balance, there is no such thing as a perfect balance, only perfect balance makes perfect. The definition varies from person to person, so we try to offer as many options as we can for our customers to find the balance that's right for them.
![[TH] VCT Pacific Stage 2 - Week 3 Day 3 // DFM vs PRX | DRX vs TLN](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/il3Twexat3A/mqdefault.jpg)
"touts themselves as something of a racing boat"........)) I was at a boatshow recently and went on board one of "those" boats, a newly released model. I asked to look behind a few panels in the saloon and what I saw looked as though it has been installed by a chimp, a blind one, and the engine bays looked as though they had been put together by that blind chimp's lesser-skilled cousin. Shame really as the hull itself is pretty good.
I'm two promotions away from being able to afford a 482, watching your videos is the only thing that keeps me plugging away in the industry of cutthroats that I work in (IT Sales).. I'll be in touch eventually.
Hi Phil, Thanks for a superbly cogent argument for the philosophy and design choices you're made for finding a balance of performance and comfort. It's well reflected in the outcome of the boats. They're also so beautiful. Maybe that's a consequence of the thought and vision behind them, but it's also a result of your style. Did you ever study art and in particular classicism?
You also make a very strong case for the durability and practical/functional quality of the boats.
Really like that they're designed to retain more of their performance when they get realistic loadings of cruising stuff. Yes, they won't be quite as fast as an empty cruising racer, but likely no one actually cruises nearly empty.
Not everyone gets it. That's ok. Different people can like different things.
One thing you may want to address in a separate video is how you're managing the business side of the very strong growth. Many companies have failed due to undercontrolled growth. I expect you folks have a balanced approach to keeping that well-trimmed. But customers will want to be comfortable with the company's financial health.
I obtained my master's degree in the philosophy of religion at Harvard. The study of art has also been a lifelong passion and my wife and I are actively involved in art circles. One of the prettiest things about the Balance came about accidentally - the Versa-helm removes the needs for an unsightly pop up helm enclosure. A Balance at anchor is so clean and pretty compared to most cats. But of course she's my baby so I'm imbued with the bias of a parent!
"You also make a very strong case for the durability and practical/functional quality of the boats.
....."
PB: You are correct. Designing a fast catamaran is really quite easy. The hard part is designing one that accurately accounts for the equipment and payloads and build weight. Skin friction increases dramatically with load on narrow performance hulls, so it is always a balancing act! But in the end it is the hundreds of little decisions you make that all add up to either a great boat or a mediocre one. The part I most enjoy about my work is this focus on the little details that lead to excellence. Anton and I have had a great partnership on these designs.
"Not everyone gets it. That's ok. Different people can like different things."
PB: There is no perfect boat. At Balance we just have a specific focus and philosophy and stick with it. We do our best to stay within the confines of our prime objectives. You cannot be everything for everyone.
"One thing you may want to address in a separate video is how you're managing the business side of the very strong growth...."
PB: We are solid as a rock financially because we've grown slowly and organically and scaled carefully. We also prudently stop taking fixed priced orders when our production is out too far to be sure we are not stung by inflation. That said, we are poised for growth and so long as the public loves our products we would be foolish not to carry on that growth. It will mean more service, more support globally, more customer events, a better customer experience all around.
Take care and thanks for your kind words about Balance. Very much appreciated.
love the shoutout to the Norhi crew
Just wonder why you favor Eglass over Sglass? Sglass apparently is superior to Eglass albeit at a extra cost. It apparently doesn't conduct electricity, and for whatever reason doesnt get the dreaded osmosis.
The reason we do not use S-glass at Balance is that it is about 30% to 40% more expensive than E-Glass and harder to get in the supply chain.
It is stronger than E-Glass by about 35% but only marginally stiffer. We and most builders therefore just go straight to carbon fiber as you are only paying a bit more but gaining even better and stiffness properties than S-glass. In the end, our E-glass, heavily carbon reinforced boats offer the best value for a performance oriented catamaran. And for those who want more carbon, or all carbon, we offer that in 526 and larger models at an additional cost. The largest negative to all carbon hulls is that they are very stiff and rather noisy at high speeds. So many of our super performance minded buyers elect to go with e-glass hulls and a range of the carbon enhancements we offer if shedding even more weight is the goal. As we like to say at Balance, there is no such thing as a perfect balance, only perfect balance makes perfect. The definition varies from person to person, so we try to offer as many options as we can for our customers to find the balance that's right for them.