Dragonfly Trimarans
Encyclopedia
Dragonfly Trimarans is a line of trimarans built by the Quorning Boats shipyard
in Denmark
.
The trimarans produced by this shipyard
are characterized by a folding technology denominated "SwingWing". This allows them to use marina
berths intended for monohulls and be trailerable
. The smallest model, the Dragonfly 28 is even narrow enough (2.54m, just under the 2.55m legal limit in the European Union) to not need special permits.
These trimarans have low draft
and can be beached since both their centreboard
and the rudder
can be lifted.
In 1995, Jens Quorning, son of the founder, replaced his father at the head of the company
. Jens' brother, Eric, runs BSI, a company which supplies parts for Quorning.In total, about 800 boats have been produced until 2007.
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
The trimarans produced by this shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
are characterized by a folding technology denominated "SwingWing". This allows them to use marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
berths intended for monohulls and be trailerable
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....
. The smallest model, the Dragonfly 28 is even narrow enough (2.54m, just under the 2.55m legal limit in the European Union) to not need special permits.
These trimarans have low draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
and can be beached since both their centreboard
Centreboard
A centreboard or centerboard is a retractable keel which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a centreboard trunk or centerboard case...
and the rudder
Rudder
A rudder is a device used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft or other conveyance that moves through a medium . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane...
can be lifted.
History
Quorning Boats was founded in 1967 by Børge Quorning. In 1981 the company dropped the monohulls and started to produce exclusively the Dragonfly range of trimarans. These early trimarans were not foldable. In 1988-89 the “Swing Wing” system was designed and developed. It was first introduced in 1989 in the Dragonfly 800 Swing Wing, and has been used in all models since then.In 1995, Jens Quorning, son of the founder, replaced his father at the head of the company
. Jens' brother, Eric, runs BSI, a company which supplies parts for Quorning.In total, about 800 boats have been produced until 2007.
Current models
- Dragonfly 28. This is the most recent model presented in January 2009 at the boot DüsseldorfBoot DüsseldorfThe Düsseldorf International Boat Show , more commonly known as boot Düsseldorf or just boot , is one of the world's premier boat shows....
Boat Show, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It has replaced the Dragonfly 800, but the company also expects it to compete with the Dragonfly 920, since it has nearly the same interior space.
- Dragonfly 920. This model exists in two versions: Touring and Extreme. The Extreme version has the same center hull as the Touring, but longer arms and floats making it wider when unfolded, which allows the use of a taller mastMast (sailing)The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
and bigger sails. It is approximately 15 % faster.
- Dragonfly 35. This model is an offshore and oceanOceanAn ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
cruiserCruising (maritime)Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.- History :...
. As in the 920 two versions exist: Touring and Ultimate. The Ultimate has a taller mastMast (sailing)The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
and bigger sails, but the same beamBeam (nautical)The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
as the Touring version.
- Dragonfly 1200. The biggest model, intended for bluewaterMaritime geographyMaritime geography is often discussed in terms of four loosely-defined regions: Riverine, brown water, green water, and blue water.-Brown water:...
cruisingCruising (maritime)Cruising by boat is a lifestyle that involves living for extended time on a boat while traveling from place to place for pleasure. Cruising generally refers to trips of a few days or more, and can extend to round-the-world voyages.- History :...
.
Previous models
- Dragonfly 600. Small, open trimaran with demountable floatsFloats (nautical)Floats are airtight hollow structures, similar to pressure vessels, whose air-filled interior makes them buoyant in water. They are most often used to make up the multipart hulls of trimarans, small open catamarans, and floatplanes . Their main purpose is to supply buoyancy, not storage space...
. Only 10 were built before the model was discontinued in 1994, due to it being "too expensive to produce".
- Dragonfly 25 MK 1. Older smaller model, predecessor of the 800.
- Dragonfly 800 MK I. In 1985, Erik Quorning came 1st in the Round Great Britain and Ireland race in one of these boats.
- Dragonfly 800 MK II. A non-swingwing model predecessor of the more recent Dragonfly 800.
- Dragonfly 800. This model was introduced in August 1989 and was replaced by the Dragonfly 28 in 2009. There were two versions, Cruising and Racing, differing on the size of mast and sails. About 300 were built.
- Dragonfly 1000. Replaced by the Dragonfly 35.
Awards
- Dragonfly 1000 - "Boat of The Year 1994" from Sailing World magazine
- Dragonfly 600 - "Boat of the Year 1996" from Sailing World magazine
- Dragonfly 1200 - "Boat of the Year 2001" award from Cruising World magazine
- Dragonfly 1200 - Danish Design Prize 2001
- Dragonfly 920 Extreme - “European Yacht of the Year 2004”.
- Dragonfly 35 Ultimate - “European Yacht of the Year 2008”.