International Boat Industry – June-July 2019

Balance Catamarans expands range

SOUTH AFRICA Balance

Catamarans has added yet

another catamaran model to

its expanded range, this time

a scaled-down version of the

Balance 526. The Balance 482

will be built under licence by

newly-established Balance

Catamarans Cape Town, owned

by South African boatbuilder

Mark Delany of Two Oceans

Marine. The new model, with

a slightly reduced waterline

length, retains the same

characteristics as the 526 and

is a design collaboration by

Balance president Phil Berman

and Anton du Toit of Du Toit

Yacht Design.

Berman said the expanded

range is in response to

customer demand. “In listening

to feedback over the last several

years, it became clear to us

that many sailors wanted what

the Balance 526 had to offer

in a slightly smaller package

and lower price point,” he

said. “With the new Balance

482 we hope that we are able

to further restore balance to

the catamaran universe in the

under 50ft category. It’s an

added bonus to be working

with Mark Delany with whom

we have worked before on other

custom catamarans. He’s a

second-generation boatbuilder

with deep skills and integrity

and a history of proven results.”

Last year Balance

Catamarans redesigned its

original 601 model – now

known as the Balance 620 –

produced by a joint venture

partner Nexus Yachts in the

Eastern Cape. Earlier this

year Berman also formally

announced his latest

partnership with Two Oceans

Marine, aimed at producing

slightly larger open ocean

catamarans and now also the

482. Two Oceans specialises
     in luxury custom cats in the
     7m-25m range.
     Phil Berman said the 482
     would add further positive
     momentum to the Balance
     footprint in South Africa,
     with a further four 526 hulls
     due to be launched within the
     next year. “We never wanted
     to grow the company too fast
     or lose touch with why we
     started in the first place,” he
     said. “It is one thing to build
     fast and beautiful catamarans,
     but they must be built robustly
     enough to withstand the
     worst weather a sailor might
     encounter,” the president
     added.

ibinews.com International Boat Industry | JUNE–JULY 2019 13

SCIBS 2019 declared

best show in event’s

31-year history

AUSTRALIA Australian

marine industry executives

have declared the 2019

Sanctuary Cove International

Boat Show (SCIBS) the best

in the event’s 31-year-history,

with record crowds, good

weather and multimillion-

dollar sales proving a successful

combination.

With around 47,250 people

attending the May event, a 3%

increase on last year, exhibitors

were united in their assessment

that SCIBS 2019 had delivered,

as motivated and well-informed

boaties came looking to buy

and spend.

SCIBS organisers said 2019

was one of the biggest shows

yet, with 182 boats on-water

and 423 boats on land across

The Marine Village precincts,

along with 334 individual

exhibitors on display.

Princess Yachts’ new dealer

principal, Greg Haines, has

attended every SCIBS since the

inaugural edition in 1988. “This

year’s instalment topped all

those that came before it,” he

said. “It’s the best boat show I

can remember.”

Palm Beach Motor Yachts

(PBMY) hosted the premiere

of the Palm Beach GT50, along

with the PB50 classic and the

2019 PB65 Fly. CEO Mark

Richards said SCIBS 2019 was

the company’s best show for ‘a

few years’, which he attributed

to excellent product and people,

and good election results. “It

has been very positive for us,

with a few sales and a lot of

leads to follow up,” he said.

Luxury cruiser manufacturer

Maritimo also described SCIBS

2019 as a major success, with

multiple sales across its product

line, including a couple of X50s

and a few flybridge models.

“We are very happy with the

response with sales of both

our flybridge motoryachts and

the newly released X50,” says

CEO Garth Corbitt. “With

many millions of dollars worth

of deals finalised and more

pending, our forward order

pipeline is extremely healthy.”

The global premiere of

the X50 was the company’s

showstopper at SCIBS. It

follows in the wake of the X60,

launched at SCIBS 2018, as the

second model in Maritimo’s ‘X’

range. Six X50 models were sold

off plan.

SCIBS returns to Sanctuary

Cove next year from May 21-24,

2020.

 Around 47,250 people attended SCIBS 2019

Australian MIA

to ban single-

use plastics at

marinas

AUSTRALIA The Australian

Marinas Industries Association

(MIA) has joined the global

fight against plastic waste

by announcing a new policy

aimed at eliminating single-

use plastics in the country’s

marinas.

“MIA is committed to

providing industry leadership

to eliminate single-use plastics

by 2025 at MIA member

marinas through education

and information leading to

changed business practices

and recycling,” said Andrew

Chapman, MIA president, at

the Marinas19 Conference on

Australia’s Gold Coast.

Chapman strongly

encouraged marinas to sign up

and pledge their support for

this policy at the conference or

via the MIA website.

 The Balance 482