New Dragonfly 36: Composite folding wings reduces weight for more speed

Now this is a multihull to raise a sailor’s adrenaline. With the wish to create something special between its 32ft and 40ft models, Danish trimaran specialists Dragonfly spent two years developing this new Dragonfly 36.

“When you develop something new you want to raise the bar,” designer and CEO Jens Quorning explained to me at its Düsseldorf premiere in January. A key development is that the folding mechanism structure is now made in composite, something Quorning says has been his dream to do for a decade.

Pace and deck space, with easily folding floats

Why haven’t they managed it before? “There’s 20 tonnes of compression on the arms when flying a hull,” Quorning answered, referencing why they preferred to play safe with metal before now. The analysis they have recently done with composites, which included crash tests and pull tests, has given them the confidence to now use it in key structural areas.

Winches are sited by the twin wheels.

The resultant weight savings – this boat weighs under five tonnes – mean more speed. Performance wise, Quorning expects this to be somewhere between the standard and performance version of the 40 (which is quite capable of speeds in the mid 20 knots).

The 36 also has new asymmetric float designs with added volume, which are slightly longer than the main hull for diagonal stability. The bottom line is that it’s an easy yacht to sail, says Quorning, pointing out the ability to carry full sail in up to 20 knots, that it can dry out, and that it only takes 40 seconds to fold the floats.

The long saloon in the central hull.

Dragonfly has taken the best bits of the 40’s cockpit to create a large, comfortable bench space with winches by the dual aft wheels. And the yard obviously knows how long people like to actively spend on the wheel even in Baltic waters, as it included heated helm seat options!

A 30hp Yanmar is located right aft between the wheels, keeping noise and smells away from the interior, while the saildrive is protected from drying out, positioned directly in front of the rudder for manoeuvrability.

The first boat drew a crowd at boot Düsseldorf

Below decks is Dragonfly’s favoured layout with a long, sleepable saloon and proportionately the largest galley it has done. It also has a proper aft double and a forward V-berth.

The 36 is offered as a cruising version with self-tacking jib or a performance version with taller rig. Seventeen had sold off the plans and around 80% of Dragonfly clients take the performance rig. Hull number two is being exhibited at La Grande Motte.

Source: New Dragonfly 36: Composite folding wings reduces weight for more speed