Dragonfly 920

Whitelighter

Whitelighter

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Does anyone own/sail one of these.

Long time raggie turned moboer turning raggie again, the wife doesn't like boats that heel and I want something stable that I can wind up.

The DF920 looks perfect, but would like to get some first hand opinions, especially on build quality, ease of sailing and real ability to go when required.
 
Whitelighter said:
Does anyone own/sail one of these.

Long time raggie turned moboer turning raggie again, the wife doesn't like boats that heel and I want something stable that I can wind up.

The DF920 looks perfect, but would like to get some first hand opinions, especially on build quality, ease of sailing and real ability to go when required.
Click to expand...

A friend has the slightly larger model and I have sailed in company with it- briefly... It took off like a scalded cat. (even though it's a tri..)

I was very impressed with the build quality and use of space.
 
Whitelighter said:
Does anyone own/sail one of these.

Long time raggie turned moboer turning raggie again, the wife doesn't like boats that heel and I want something stable that I can wind up.

The DF920 looks perfect, but would like to get some first hand opinions, especially on build quality, ease of sailing and real ability to go when required.
Click to expand...

Nothing useful to offer but I've been overtaken by them like I was standing still. So if you buy one, "Can I have a Go, Mate"?
 
I don't remember if it was a 920 but the one I was on had a very small (unusable) toilet, we reverted to "bucket and chuck it".
 
A friend had one - looked fantastic, they'd sail everywhere - the 15hp outboard would disappoint you so you'd sail anyway ... but they'd be forever planning on flat water...
I think they were a bit worried about burying the lee float so rarely pushed it - frustrating if you want to go faster and a worry if not ...
They could sleep 4 but it was best for 2

Fantastic boat - I just wish we were suited to it!
 
Father in Law has one on the Solent. Bought for much the same reasons as you cite. I race on it quite a bit. It's the 'extreme' version with the bigger rig.

My views:

Build quality....ok but for what they cost, not that impressed. Boat is approx 4 years old and this year they are currently removing all the fittings (and there's a lot) and rebedding them as rust streaks showing through. Various small leaks through some deck fittings but nothing major.

Lots of bi-metal corrosion appearing.

Rope clutches on cabin roof very vulnerable and expensive.

Sails.....get a hard life..on a new set this year.

Is it fast? yes - we have done over 20 knots with ease. Takes a bit of getting used to, especially in a blow - and as mentioned the leeward float thing is important.....they nearly pitchpoled it once caught in a massive gust......shredded the kite, and has damaged the mast foot (only just discovered).

In all honesty a wet boat when the wind gets up. Very wet.

Ease of sailing......pretty labour intensive. Singlehanding is possible but knackering. No self tailing winches for headsail.

Quite a few of the standard ropes are not correct type...trying to get the board to stay down is a nightmare as rope just slips through the kick up cleat. Not major but again IMHO for what it cost...

Folding in and out - an absolute nightmare although does get easier once used to it. Not a straightforward process...lots of elements to it which you have to do in the right order. Absolutely knackering doing it unless you are super fit. TBH this has put me off the thing since day 1, but hey, it's free sailing. But bear this in mind when looking at berthing as many marinas want them folded...although shallow water moorings ok as it draws virtually nothing with the board and rudder up.

Internal comfort: 4 is v cosy....1 x double in the bow and 2 singles (1 is quite wide) in the saloon...but you have to fold it out each night. I would say it's not really ideal for staying on for more than the occasional night.

Ok under power although lots of windage so you have to be brave!

So I would say...if you want to go fast it's great. As a cruising boat..I reckon there are better.....
 
Have a pal with a Farrier tri - same idea as the Dragonfly. Sailed on it and can confirm the speed - we sailed a circle round a 3 masted barque that was going down the esturay under engine, and my pal sails in conditions that would have even cruiser racer monos motoring. He loves it.

Personally I would not have one for all the reasons that ribdriver has stated, every one of which I would agree with. It really is more like a big dinghy than a yacht.

Look at cats instead.
 
Whitelighter said:
Does anyone own/sail one of these.

Long time raggie turned moboer turning raggie again, the wife doesn't like boats that heel and I want something stable that I can wind up.

The DF920 looks perfect, but would like to get some first hand opinions, especially on build quality, ease of sailing and real ability to go when required.
Click to expand...

Got one coming in for CopperCoat next week. Owner seems really nice I'll ask him if he'll show you round.
 
Whitelighter said:
Does anyone own/sail one of these.

Long time raggie turned moboer turning raggie again, the wife doesn't like boats that heel and I want something stable that I can wind up.

The DF920 looks perfect, but would like to get some first hand opinions, especially on build quality, ease of sailing and real ability to go when required.
Click to expand...

Got one coming in for CopperCoat in a couple of weeks. Owner seems really nice I'll ask him if he'll show you round.
 
Some info here...

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105392&highlight=dragonfly

And a couple of video clips here...

Effortless 14 knots...
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-1537025573019522075

Cooking while hard on the wind...
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-2243855475079757196

I've had one for 9 years and not had any of the problems ribdriver mentions with corrosion or jammers or leaks. Sails are expensive though, as are any spares as the fittings are nearly all Scandinavian origin.

They get a lot of criticism and negativity here, as shown by this thread, which is why I never say much about mine. I'm not sure why, as they are very obviously different beasts from AWB's and of course are going to sail differenly and be more expensive and fragile than your common or garden BenJenBav, just like a TVR is going to be a different experience from a Mondeo. But despite them being put down as a big dinghy, day-sailor and not a proper yacht, I sail mine mostly single handed thousands of miles up and down the whole W coast of the UK, stay on board for weeks on end, use the loo, and haven't capsized it yet.

You may be aware that the 920 is not a current boat any more. It has been superceded by the DF28 and DF32.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
They get a lot of criticism and negativity here, as shown by this thread, which is why I never say much about mine.
Click to expand...
Shame - because I think they're fantastic boats ... you just need to be suited to one - with 4 adults it's just not suited for us -
plus I'd be frustrated because I'd want to be sailing it fast fast fast whilst others in the crew would (and I don't blame them) be concerned about pitch polling or damaging it and wanting to reef down early ...

How do you find the sailing in a large sea? Or is it just a short chop that they don't like (any more than an AWB likes a short chop - but at least we've got a beefy engine to shuv us through it!)
 
fireball said:
Shame - because I think they're fantastic boats ... you just need to be suited to one - with 4 adults it's just not suited for us -
plus I'd be frustrated because I'd want to be sailing it fast fast fast whilst others in the crew would (and I don't blame them) be concerned about pitch polling or damaging it and wanting to reef down early ...

How do you find the sailing in a large sea? Or is it just a short chop that they don't like (any more than an AWB likes a short chop - but at least we've got a beefy engine to shuv us through it!)
Click to expand...

It depends what you think is fast. Push them into the 20's of knots then care needs to be taken. But at 14 knots everything is safe and sedate, like in the clip above. That's still double the maximum speed of an equivalent length boat.

If you go fast in a large sea, then you get thumping and jolting and any engineer on board starts grimacing at the loads the forward beam is taking. But the first rule of tri-meringue sailing is that it is always possible to slow down. Take the speed down to single figures, and it doesn't matter what the sea state is, it's a much quieter ride than a mono because the hulls are so fine.

It's all about sailing to the conditions.
 
Bosun Higgs said:
Have a pal with a Farrier tri - same idea as the Dragonfly. Sailed on it and can confirm the speed - we sailed a circle round a 3 masted barque that was going down the esturay under engine, and my pal sails in conditions that would have even cruiser racer monos motoring. He loves it.

Personally I would not have one for all the reasons that ribdriver has stated, every one of which I would agree with. It really is more like a big dinghy than a yacht.

Look at cats instead.
Click to expand...

That's a very fine summary, just a shame it is based on a different boat.
 
Whitelighter said:
If you can show me a 10m cat that doesn't look like a pig and doesnt go like a lame shire horse then I will consider it.

A cat just seems to be loads of space, horrendous mooring fees and no more pace than a decently set up mono...
Click to expand...

DAzcat 10. Job Done!
Dazcat-10-BEDAZZLED-3.jpg
 
I think they are awesome and frankly I would give my first born child for the 32footer....
 
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