A 48-hour passage from Nassau to St. Augustine reveals why this owner's-version Balance 526 sets the bar for performance cruising catamarans.
There are boat tours filmed at the dock, and then there are boat tours filmed at sea, wing-on-wing in 20-plus knots of breeze, surfing down Gulf Stream swells. Andrew Hodgdon of The Multihull Company chose the latter for S/V Little Bird, a 2021 Balance 526, using a delivery run from Nassau to St. Augustine as the backdrop for a genuinely useful walkthrough of one of the most desirable performance cruising catamarans on the market.
A Late Mark I With Mark II DNA
Little Bird is one of the last of the Balance 526 Mark I series, but she arrived in that transition window where several of the marquee Mark II upgrades had already been folded into the build. Chief among them: integral 48-volt engine-mounted generators producing 9 kW apiece, feeding a 48-volt Victron lithium house bank that can be topped up in under an hour. Pair that with a 3,200-watt solar array — including panels mounted over the davits that double as dinghy shade — and this is a catamaran with genuine energy independence.
Propulsion comes from a pair of low-hours Yanmar 57-hp diesels on SD60 saildrives, with overdrive that lets you loaf along at 7.5 to 8 knots at low RPM. On the delivery, Hodgdon logged an 8-knot average over 48 hours under main and jib alone — respectable pace, especially given that the Code Zero was grounded by a damaged halyard winch awaiting parts in Florida.
The VersaHelm and Shorthanded Sailing
Balance’s signature VersaHelm gets a proper on-the-water demonstration here. Pull a pin, swing the wheel down, close the hardtop, and you’re driving from a fully enclosed, protected station with excellent visibility — ideal for squalls or night watches. Slide the hardtop open and swing the wheel back up, and you’re out in the breeze. Both the lower and upper helms have electric ZF throttles, chartplotters, and autopilot controls, and virtually all sail handling — with the exception of Code Zero and spinnaker halyards — is led to the upper helm’s three electric winches. Hodgdon executes the jibe to wing-on-wing solo from the helm, trimming a rigged barber hauler with a coaming winch controlled from where he’s standing. It is, as advertised, about as easy as shorthanding a 52-foot cat gets.
The A-frame mainsheet system deserves mention. Five positions along the transom let you move the sheet blocks to match your point of sail, and the geometry self-triangulates — no preventer, no vang, and full control over boom height and sail shape. It takes a moment to internalize; once you do, it’s hard to go back.
Interior: Zebrawood, Tobacco Oak, and a Serious Galley
Step inside and the first impression is that this doesn’t feel like a production boat. Zebrawood joinery, white panels, and tobacco oak flooring read warm and modern. The U-shaped salon settee wraps around a walnut drop-leaf table that converts to a full daybed, and the galley is genuinely equipped for a cook: Miele induction cooktop, Miele steam oven, Jura espresso machine, and dual Vitrifrigo drawer refrigeration.
Little Bird is laid out in the owner’s version. The starboard hull is given over entirely to a forward master with a true king berth and an expansive head and shower. To port, a generous forward guest cabin and an aft split-berth cabin (that converts to a large double) share separate head and shower stalls, each with its own sink. Both forepeaks are finished — one as an owner’s storage locker and closet, the other as a dedicated sail locker — accessible from inside or through oversized deck hatches.
Systems, Sails, and Details That Add Up
The equipment list is deep. Reverse-cycle air conditioning and heat throughout, Spectra watermaker, Samsung washer/dryer, built-in Starlink on the coachroof, and a Dometic cockpit cooler for drinks. Ullman RDL laminate sails include a new mainsail (2025), plus two Code Zeros, two spinnakers, a staysail, and a storm jib. The rig is Sparcraft aluminum with the optional hay-rack boom — Hodgdon’s favorite — which spreads the flaked sail over netting for better drying and less mildew. Ground tackle is 100 meters of chain on a Rocna, handled by a Maxwell windlass.
A few Balance signatures round it out: captive daggerboards that stay flush to the deck (with beefier trunks to compensate), carbon-fiber handholds glassed into the hardtop, real laminated glass windows rather than polycarbonate, Antal rolling cleats, and the forward dolphin seats that remain one of the finest lounging spots on any cruising cat. A hardtop bimini over the upper helm — a less common option on 526s — replaces the standard canvas pop-up and gives real shelter to the flybridge station.
Market Context
Balance 526s trade rarely, and when they do, they command strong numbers.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Recent solds (24 mo) | 1 |
| Median sold price | $2,200,000 |
| Median days to sell | ~76 |
| Active listings | 1 |
| Current asking | $1,799,000 |
Captain Keith has been aboard Little Bird since new, and the boat’s condition reflects five years of dedicated care. For a buyer looking at a performance owner’s-version Balance 526 with the upgraded 48-volt architecture, extensive sail inventory, and a hardtop upper helm, this one warrants a close look.