A professionally captained, meticulously kept performance cat with daggerboards, 25 kWh of lithium and the Versahelm that defines the Balance line.
Some used boats arrive on the market with a story that explains their condition. The 2021 Balance 482 S/V Ke’Ala is one of them: she has been owned and maintained by a professional captain, and broker Andrew Hodgdon of The Multihull Company makes that point early in his walkthrough before letting the boat speak for itself. What follows is a detailed, systems-aware tour of a catamaran that was designed, as the brand name suggests, to balance liveaboard comfort against genuine sailing performance.
Starting at the Versahelm
Hodgdon begins where most Balance conversations begin — the Versahelm. In the raised, outboard position it offers a seat wide enough for two, three primary winches within reach, and essentially every line on the boat led to hand. “Looking forward, I can see all four corners of the boat from this position,” he notes, and that sightline is the whole argument for the arrangement. Electric winch controls, a chart plotter and wind instruments sit in the console, while a pop-up bimini gives shade without sacrificing breeze, and a sliding hardtop closes the cockpit off from rain.
Two details he flags are the sort a buyer only appreciates later: the built-in handhold with a deep grip lip that doubles as rain catchment, and the fact that the windows are real laminated glass rather than polycarbonate — so they won’t craze or degrade the way acrylic does on many production cats.
Sailing Hardware and Foredeck
All 482s were built with daggerboards, and Ke’Ala is no exception — controls sit just aft in the cockpit, workable by hand when unloaded or via an electric winch when they aren’t. The payoff is the classic daggerboard trade: real upwind performance plus a shallow draft for tight anchorages. Rig is a Sparcraft aluminum mast with a self-tacking jib on a conventional furler, and the sail wardrobe includes Olman ADSL performance cruising sails, a Code Zero on a continuous furler and an asymmetrical spinnaker in a sock.
Forward, the Balance dolphin seats are genuinely forward-facing — unusual among catamarans — and secure enough, Hodgdon suggests, that you’d be relaxed letting the kids ride up there. A Dyneema trampoline net (a factory upgrade) is taut and easy to work on underway. The integrated longeron and crossbeam hide a trap-door anchor locker with a 33 kg Rocna and a high-mounted windlass, a layout that gives plenty of chain drop so the pile doesn’t jam. Chain counter and foredeck controls are duplicated at the helm. The seat lockers and a second forward locker swallow dock lines, jerry cans, fenders and sails; some owners fit a dive compressor there, though Ke’Ala doesn’t have one.
Power: The Balance Party Trick
Open the large engine hatch and you find a Yanmar 45 — and the feature Hodgdon clearly rates most highly. Each engine carries an integral 48-volt engine-mounted generator, essentially an oversized alternator capable of up to 9 kW apiece, feeding a Victron 48V lithium house bank. The 482 comes standard with 25 kWh of storage, and with that combination Hodgdon says you can go from roughly 20–30% state of charge back to the high 90s in 45 minutes to an hour. Add four 400W solar panels — 1,600 watts total — and day-to-day energy management stops being a chore.
Cockpit Living
The aft cockpit is laid out for lounging as much as sailing: a big sun lounge, a drop-down dining table that converts the space into a large seating pit, and a downhill helm seat and lounger. A built-in Kenyon electric grill and a genuinely large refrigerated locker beneath one of the seats supplement the galley. Paddle boards and surfboards stow in dedicated coach roof channels rather than lashed to the lifelines. When the hardtop is slid closed and the helm swung down, the inboard driving position becomes a fully weather-protected station with 360-degree visibility, Yanmar engine instruments, wind data, autopilot and throttles at hand. Large sliding doors then open the saloon to the cockpit for that single-level feel.
Saloon, Galley and Accommodation
The U-shaped galley is, in Hodgdon’s view, a requirement on an offshore boat — somewhere you can brace against the counter and keep both hands free. It’s fitted with a Kenyon induction stove, convection oven, a large basin sink with drying-rack and cutting-board inserts, and plenty of counter and stowage. Ke’Ala also has the traditional forward-facing nav station rather than the filled-in cabinetry option, plus factory zebrawood joinery that has aged well and Ocean Air blinds throughout — valuable for marina privacy and for cutting UV and heat in the tropics.
The U-shaped settee converts from coffee-table height to dining, and drops again into a lounging berth; Hodgdon mentions sleeping there offshore to stay within call of the helm. Refrigeration includes a Vitrifrigo drawer unit and a fridge-freezer, and the TV swivels out so it can be watched from the cockpit or used to mirror the chart plotter.
The starboard hull is the owner’s, and the passageway is lined with cabinetry, hanging lockers and the boat’s systems: integral charging panel, Victron battery monitor, inverter and breaker panel, water maker, and an LG washer-dryer in place of the standard Splendide. The queen berth has walk-around access from both sides, cubbies with outlets and USB charging, an overhead hatch, two fans and side port lights. The owner’s head is the one Hodgdon calls “infamous” — a very large shower with seating, Corian vanity and, at 6’1″, a couple of inches of headroom to spare.
To port are two guest cabins — an aft double and a forward cabin essentially identical to the master, minus the closet — sharing a split head arrangement: a toilet and sink aft, a shower with its own sink forward, so two guests can use the space simultaneously.
Where the 482 Sits
The Balance 482 is a thin, closely watched market. YachtSite records one sale in the past 24 months, with a median time to sell of roughly 296 days, and three active listings at present.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Solds (last 24 months) | 1 |
| Median time to sell | ~296 days |
| Active listings | 3 |
| Asking range | $1,385,000 – $1,549,000 |
| Median asking | $1,525,000 |
Hodgdon closes the tour much as he opened it: a well-maintained, well-specified boat that should make an exceptional liveaboard for her next owner. For a buyer weighing daggerboard performance, serious 48V electrical capability and a genuinely usable three-cabin layout, Ke’Ala is worth a close look.