We made marine history when we launched the first Balance 526 in 2013, creating a brand-new category in the sailing industry – performance luxury catamarans. Our high-performance luxury catamaran didn’t even require a professional crew to operate or maintain. Together with our invention of the VersaHelm and Carbon Cross fabrications, we set a new standard for excellence in catamaran design and fabrication. We’ve been leading innovation in the catamaran industry ever since.
“I think the Balance 526 represents an important moment in the history of multihull design and evolution…there was something missing in the marketplace that Phil recognized: a high-performance voyaging cat that an experienced couple could take anywhere…finally, we have that catamaran a couple can really sail well.”
– Tim Murphy, Judge, Cruising World Boat of the Year 2017
Now it’s time to do it again. Meet the Balance 540.
She’s a stunning evolution of our ground-breaking 526, winner of Cruising World’s Import Sailboat of the Year in 2016, and first to finish in the 2023 Cape2Rio race, and so many more races and voyages. Her owners have sailed the globe over 500,000 nautical miles since her introduction.
We’ve drawn on those sailing achievements, taken careful notes, listened to our many talented owners, and invested hundreds of hours thinking about innovation while sailing on our catamarans all over the world. We utilized all of these elements to design and craft the new Balance 540.
The Balance 540—a mid-size bluewater catamaran designed to deliver the ideal blend of speed, comfort, and liveability is nestled between our Balance 502 and 580. It offers a meaningful step up in space and capability without sacrificing the agile performance and ease of short-handed operation Balance Catamarans are known for.
Though just under two feet longer than the 526 she replaces in our range, the Balance 540 offers a dramatic increase in volume—25% more internal space—thanks to her expanded midships and wider hulls. This added volume opens the door to even greater liveaboard comfort, with flexible layouts that support up to four full king-size cabins and significantly increased storage capacity. It’s the kind of space you rarely find in a performance-oriented catamaran of this size.
The 540’s extended salon and larger cockpit mirror the layout of our flagship 580, including a galley design that brings an increased sense of luxury to life onboard. It has all the style, performance, and finish you’d expect from her larger sibling.
But the 540 is more than just comfortable. She will be faster – estimated at 8 percent increase in speed – than the 526 while offering greater payload capacity, courtesy of a slightly wider waterline and a more powerful rig. Major structural elements built from carbon fiber help keep weight low and her strength high, ensuring a responsive and stable ride in a range of conditions.
Throughout the design process, we prioritized owner feedback and real-world experience. She now sports thoughtful upgrades like higher wing deck clearance for improved cabin headroom and reduced hydrodynamic drag. She carries king-size berths with generous under-bed storage, as well as versatile forward cabins that can be customized as guest rooms, offices, or bunk spaces. Ventilation has been carefully optimized with large deck lockers and multiple opening ports to ensure excellent airflow. Engine and alternator placement have also been refined to minimize noise and vibration.
The Balance 540 embodies everything we’ve learned over the years about catamaran design, sailing, and collaboration with our owners. She’s a yacht that’s not only thrilling to sail but also genuinely livable—a performance cruiser designed to take you farther, faster, and more comfortably than ever before.
The Balance 540 is coming—smarter, sleeker, and ready to redefine luxury performance catamaran cruising. Stay tuned.
