Southwinds - August 2000

Southwinds Local News for Southern Sailors - August 2000 Next Story

Reviewing the Dragonfly 800
By Charles E. Kanter

The Miami boat show is a wonderful opportunity to test sailboats. The winds blow, the currents flow, and the shoals lurk just beneath the surface. You better have a boat that does what you want or you may be in deep trouble.
It was a typical idyllic Miami day with southeast winds around 15 knots, puffy little cotton ball clouds, and temperatures around 80 degrees. Susan Pogell, CEO of Womanship, was dying for a ride on a fast boat, so when the opportunity came to test sail the Dragonfly, I took both Susan and her assistant, Erika Brigham, along.
The Dragonfly 800 is manufactured in Denmark by Quorning Yachts. The design intent is a trailerable sport trimaran. We would have five people on the test sail on a diminutive 26-foot trimaran. Carsten and Joanne, the importers and distributors, were a little nervous about the extra weight, but I assured them I was also interested in observing how the boat handled with the additional crew since it might be sailed that way in general use.

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      The Dragonfly sailing ability borders on the spectacular. Even with the extra weight and lack of familiarity by the crew, we effortlessly tacked, jibed, beat, reached and ran all with feather-light control and sports car response. We all came away impressed.
      However, undeniable superior performance is only a small part of the advantages of this remarkable little speedster. Its handiness around docks, wharves and piers is, I believe, far superior to any other boat in its size range, including comparable monohulls. The reason for that is the way the boat retracts its floats.
     I cannot get into a proper discussion over which retracting system, the legendary Corsair system or the swing-wing Dragonfly system, will provide the fewest mechanical and maintenance problems. There are simply too many variables. What I can discuss is the ease of operation and the advantage of not having the hulls turned sideways when retracted and the large difference in stability when retracted.
     By pulling the floats in parallel with the hull, the boat remains level and accessible its entire length. Unlike a monohull in that size range, which heels significantly when boarded, the Dragonfly does not heel when you step on the retracted float. You can leave the vessel retracted without fear of fouling the topsides, since even retracted, it maintains the normal waterline, thus exposing the bottom paint to the water rather than the sides of the floats.
     The Dragonfly is definitely an upscale vessel. Its finish and appointments are considerably better than competing vessels. However, this seems to be a two-edged sword. Most of the people who buy trailerable sport trimarans buy them for their performance and apparently would pay more for a performance edge than an amenity edge. I have sailed some performance trimarans that were simply awful in the areas of comfort, convenience and even safety, yet are enormously popular because of their performance. Aesthetics in the Dragonfly 800 are unquestionably superior. This boat is really beautiful.
     The interior is small but elegant. All appointments, fabrics, trim, and hardware are unquestionably yacht quality. Genoa winches fit into molded pads. Everything on the deck shows amazing attention to detail. This is one fine boat.

     The Dragonfly uses a pivoting centerboard rather than a daggerboard. There are pros and cons to each type of board. It has a fractional sloop rig with a full batten main. The main has a rather modest roach. The drum for the roller furling jib is in a well below deck level, allowing the foot of the jib to be a deck sweeper.
     There are two settee bunks and a forepeak bunk. A porti potti hides under one corner, and there is a vestigial galley at the foot of the cabin. Four people or a small family would be comfortable for a weekend.
     An outboard engine tucks nicely into a stern bracket and is easily handled from the cockpit. The boat moves so easily just about any small long shaft outboard will work. There is a bow pulpit but no life lines. There is a surprising amount of storage space for such a diminutive vessel.
     Race results seem inconclusive. In my opinion it is tough to really get a handle on comparative performance because of the very nature of racing. Race results show the boats reasonably evenly matched. In some races, brand X will dominate. In other races, Brand Y will dominate. So much depends upon the skippers, the race, the owners, but most important, the numbers of any particular brand in the race. If in a 20-boat race there are 15 of one make and only five of another, it skews the results. Suffice it to say that the Dragonfly is a top performer.
     There are several other Dragonfly models on the market that will be the subject of other reviews. There are also some very early Dragonfly models that are not retractable and were built under license from the designer, Borg Quorning. Some were built in Canada by Contour Yachts and some in Annapolis, MD.
     Price history shows very stable used prices, with 1994 models ranging from $24,000 to $37,000.

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