Hi Julien, Every Balance 526, 580, 620 and 750 are hand-laminated and vacuum-bagged with closed cell foam core in full epoxy construction. Our 442 and 482s are also hand laminated and vacuum bagged with closed cell foam cores, using a combination of polyester inner-skin resin and vinylester outer-skin resin. Because we use carbon in the high load areas of all our cats we call them Carbon Cross. On the catamarans we build with additional carbon enhancements (such as appendages, coach tops, flooring, etc.) we call them Carbon Cross +. On our 526 and larger models we also offer our hulls and decks in full carbon construction, our Carbon XP models.

@@balancecatamarans hi phillip do you offer the option of using epoxy instead polyester on the 442?

We are very happy to accomodate electric systems from any reputable electric or hybrid company a customer wants. We explored all of them carefully at the recent industry Mets and Dusseldrof conferences. They all have pros and cons. We are not prepared to guarantee specific performance or range under power for any of these systems. We have seen far too many claims that have not been realized in real life sailing conditions. We also stress how vital it is that the company a buyer choses must offer stellar technical service and support. When you arrive in the Cook Islands you cannot resolve a technical issue nearly as easily as you can with a diesel motor driven yacht. From what we have seen to date, nearly all of the "eco" offerings underperform, cost considerably more, and are less reliable than diesel motors with the Integrel alternators most of our customers prefer. From a green perspective we feel that Integral Alternators mounted to diesel engines running a 48 volt lithium system with loads of solar is the way to go currently. Every electric or hybrid system available will require some form of diesel generation to offer any speed or range under power. Diesel is a 23% denser energy carrier at present than a litihum battery. You cannot put on enough batteries or carry enough solar to go without diesel generation unless you are prepared to drift sometimes or move at terribly slow speeds, with limited range. And if you are not able to sail you cannot count on regeneration. These things were clearly exposed in the Jimmy Cornell "Alcana Challenge" on the all electric Outremer effort. The challenge was ended soon after it began I am afraid. Most regenerating systems do not produce significant charging until you are averaging very high annual daily speeds under sail. We are practical sailors and designers and builders who feel that testing new electric or hybrid technology at our customer's expense is risky business based on what we have seen to date. But we understand and grant that some people are prepared to assume the risks of new technology. We certainly invested in and risked ourselves with the new Integrel Alternators. We are glad we did, but it was a close partnership with the company that involved evolutions in the product as we gained experience together. Our hull warranty is one year stem to stern for the hulls and decks and three years for blisters or osmosis. Stay in balance

@@balancecatamarans Phillip I think we met you at 2020 Miami Boat show. And it was a treat. Your response says as much about you and your company than any You Tube Ninja could. My wife liked you when she met you and she does not like many new people 😅. I hope we cross path's again and would love to be able one day to own such a magnificent Cat with stellar record and support! Thank you!

how about you research both of them? just like everything on a yacht its all about pros and cons that we can live with or we cant, sadly people like you for example associate certain designs as better or worst based on youtube not on what the builder or customer have in mind, here for example whats proven to work for them.... as far as i am concerned most yacht builders can do both, its up to the owner to decide ps: flush hatches are not a new concept and personally will not have them on anything again, They drip water every time i open them, and they dont last as long as raised ones and has to be closed in the light rain from my personal experience

​@@muumoo111 Instead of ranting and making foolish assumptions how about you share your pros and cons. I've been racing, cruising and delivering yachts across oceans for 30+ years. Tripping at night on a raised hatch or stubbing my toes on raised deck hatches when the deck shifts awkwardly in a choppy sea isn't much fun. Modern flush hatches do NOT leak if fitted and maintained properly.

@@captainparlo9508 you sounded like an idiot and now confirmed it mr racer, now go and reread my *rant* ( modern hatches like the ones on nordhavn 68 that i own ? or like my older hullberg rassy 42f )

why even bother commenting on a commerical ad? ...did i just comment on a comment on a comercial ad?

I definitely prefer flush hatches too.

And that is???? Haha.

@@ShellyMartz My free one

Really. But do you support buying a phone or computer made of plastic to type KZfaq comments on? If you are afraid of plastic/epoxy you should go live in a cave and cook your dinner using firewood you spend all day gathering. Perhaps you never want to travel in a car ever again. A strong quality build yacht like the balance yachts can probably last 100 years.

Not sure if your just trolling or ignorant...Catamarans must be light comparatively to mono hulls. This immediately rules out ferro cement and steel as a material selection. Wood isnt really viable because of the excessive maintenance requirements and significantly reduced lifetime of the hull. Not to mention the need to chop down many many trees to build the boat. Finally Aluminium is a viable alternative, from a weight perspective, but it has corrosion issues and creates significant environmental damage from bauxite mining and CO2 emissions in its production. Comparatively Fiberglass and carbon fibre last significantly longer, with reduced maintenance and arguably less CO2 emissions. The ironic thing is that you are actually totally unaware that fiberglass can be recycled....so sure keep standing on your soapbox and telling equally ignorant people how bad it is to use fiberglass.

Hadn't thought of it like that, there certainly is a good argument around recyclability