BOAT TEST Words by Mark Orr
Dragonfly 28 
The Dragonfly 28 was introduced at the Dusseldorf
when folded the floats lift the main hull
so that when dried out folded or on a
Boat Show in late January this year to wide acclaim trailer the three hull bases are at the
from the media and importantly potential and existing
same level so the boat is very stable
when moored folded or sat on a trailer.
Dragonfly owners.
Opening to folding takes less than two
minutes and if operating from a trailer
there is a clever mast lowering and
isually exciting and improves windward performance
raising system that takes about 20
V
beautifully presented this and sit proportionally higher than on
minutes to rig the mast prior to launch.
is more of a sports boat the 35. When sailing the floats are
than a cruising multihull 300mm longer than the main hull
The 28 is designed to motor in and out
and in every area the attention to to give maximum diagonal stability
of her berth and is stable if left folded.
detail is what one has come to when reaching downwind and do not
The trailer is available as an option and
expect Quorning Boats to design over-rotate as much as in the 35. The
when folded the beam is just 2.54m
and produce. control system has also been simplified;
and with the weight of the trailer, simple
when open the floats and are held in
sailing equipment and outboard has
The 28 is not a replacement for the place using a fixed static wire and a
a trailer weight of 2,500kg so can be
Dragonfly 920 that continues to be substantial opening purchase which
towed by a large family car.
popular and nor is she a scaled down is tensioned to open the floats. When
To achieve a standard boat weight
version of the hugely successful opened the static wire prevents over
of just 1700kgs including sails the
Dragonfly 35. She is something rotation and an orange webbing strap
boat is outboard driven and simply but
new and quite exciting - a pure is clipped into place to act as a safety
pleasantly fitted out with a large double
performance cruiser in the Touring line should the opening purchase
V shaped berth forward, two single
version and an exciting racer cruiser accidentally be released.
berths in the saloon area and with a
in the Sport version. We sailed the
large single berth beneath the cockpit.
Sport version on a windy, testing day It is simple but clever. When the floats
All berths are 2m in length and fine for
in the Solent that produced moments fold in they rotate in a downward arc
weekending with a crew or cruising as
of great excitement, frustration and to sit snugly next to the main hull and
a family.
pure pleasure.
Construction
The boat is built in an identical way to
the larger 35 using one piece hull and
deck moulds for the main hull and the
floats. A combination of unidirectional,
bi and multi-axial fibres around a foam
core are used withVinylester resin is
used to produce a light but strong
structure with solid laminate along
the centre line. The construction is
light weight but sufficiently strong to
accommodate the sailing loads and
ensure the reliability of the folding
system in the toughest conditions.
The centreboard and rudder are
both kick up and controlled by ropes
with an ingenious but simple kick up
arrangement. The rudder is semi-
balanced and powerful.
The 140% volume floats have a
new asymmetric design which
6  MULTIHULL REVIEW : OCTOBER 2009
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