Plenty of magic comes out of the small town of Fredericia on the coast of Denmark. Quorning Boats, builders of Dragonfly trimarans, has set up shop here and drives each one of their 40 yearly builds with the passion and innovation expected from a multi-generational family owned and operated business. SAIL Technical Editor Adam Cove visited the factory and takes us for a behind-the-scenes tour.
Dragonfly boats are all about details and performance. Quality is controlled onsite with a highly trained Danish team, with facilities featuring an onsite woodshop, composite molding rooms, rigging shop, assembly room, and even an indoor storage and maintenance center. Each of Dragonfly’s boats creates a fast and flat alternative to monohulls while also providing a beautiful interior finish, plenty of standing headroom and comfort below, and carefully designed features like chines and spray rails to make for a drier ride. These may be some of the most expensive boats in the world for their length, but after one look through the factory, it is clear why—a high resale value, exciting performance, and great attention to detail in every aspect of the builds.
Each of their boats are built to order, with their 40-footer offering a lightweight carbon fiber option as well as a hybrid propulsion system (not that you’ll need to motor much when sailing is this fast and easy). Every Dragonfly trimaran is equipped with a system that lets the amas be folded against the hull in less than four minutes; just tension one line to bring them in and one to extend them back out. A kickup rudder and centerboard lets you slow down and explore the shallows, and when you’re ready to fly, you can expect top speeds of up to 25 knots under sail and an average easy cruising speed of 10 knots. If you want to see it for yourself, head over to Denmark and try it out with a weeklong charter that can be credited towards a new build.
May 2024
