Design and the SwingWing System
The defining feature of the Dragonfly 32 is the company's unique SwingWing feature, a proprietary folding mechanism that allows the amas to retract quickly when docking or entering a slip. With the arms folded in, the boat occupies a conventional twelve-foot-wide slip; deployed, the amas spread to a full twenty-six-foot beam. The geometry is not purely a marina convenience. The amas carry extra volume and extend slightly forward of the main hull to promote boat speed and prevent pitchpoling — a deliberate engineering choice that keeps the bow from diving in heavier air rather than simply widening the platform for stability's sake. The daggerboard allows for draft of just over a foot and a half with the board up, meaning the boat can be beached for swimming or a leg-stretch ashore, a practical cruising bonus that dedicated racing trimarans rarely offer.
Rig, Sails, and On-the-Water Performance
The 32 Supreme is offered in two configurations. The Touring version uses an aluminum mast and boom, while the Supreme carries a carbon rig two meters taller, producing meaningfully more drive. Test boats equipped with the Supreme package and North 3Di sails consistently hit speeds in excess of eight knots on a beam or close reach in thirteen-to-fifteen-knot Chesapeake breezes, tacking cleanly through short chop — no trivial feat for an unballasted multihull. Off the breeze, with a screacher set, speeds better than thirteen knots were recorded in approximately twelve knots of true wind. The boat's fixed bowsprit is sized to carry a Code 0, and with the full sail plan set the performance envelope broadens further. Hardware is Andersen winches, Seldén rigging, and Lewmar clutches, all lines led aft to the cockpit for easy shorthanded management.
Accommodations and Interior Layout
The saloon is narrow but more than adequate, with room for eight people around the folding centerline table. That table houses the centerboard trunk, keeping the footprint efficient. Port and starboard settees flank the table; the port-side settee folds out to a generous double for sleeping, while the companion to starboard provides comfortable seating underway. Forward, the V-berth holds another double — snug but private — with an enclosed head immediately aft. Behind the companionway ladder, a full double berth is tucked under the cockpit, giving the boat three separate sleeping areas without sacrificing structural volume. The galley brackets the companionway; the port-side counter converts to a nav station. Maplewood joinery throughout is warm and carefully executed, reflecting the boat's Scandinavian origins, and noise levels underway proved surprisingly low for such a light hull — an attribute that separates the Dragonfly from noisier, slap-happy trimarans.
Propulsion and Steering
Standard auxiliary power is a thirty-horsepower outboard motor, with a twenty-horsepower Yanmar diesel with saildrive available as an upgrade — the latter adds mechanical simplicity and eliminates the bracket-and-tilt routine of an outboard at sea. An electric drive option also exists. Steering is a tiller as standard; a wheel is available as an option for those who prefer it on a passage boat. The combination of shallow draft, folding amas, and low-horsepower inboard or outboard makes single-handed marina maneuvering more manageable than the boat's beam on the water might suggest.
The Verdict
The Dragonfly 32 Supreme is a credible answer to a question cruising sailors have asked for decades: can a performance trimaran actually be lived aboard comfortably? Quorning's engineering says yes. The SwingWing system solves the berth-width problem that has kept trimarans out of mainstream marinas, and the interior volume — hard to believe from the dock — packs three sleeping areas and a functional galley into thirty-two feet of hull. On the water the Supreme rig transforms the boat into something genuinely quick, and the stable, flat-sailing ride even as the amas go to work builds confidence rather than anxiety. The boat's build quality and hardware selection are top-shelf, which is reflected in a premium price point.
Pros
- SwingWing folding amas allow marina use in standard slips
- Beachable draft with centerboard retracted
- Genuine double-digit performance from the Supreme carbon rig
- Three separate sleeping areas for a 32-foot LOA
- Unusually low noise and slam levels for a light trimaran
- Top-shelf Andersen, Seldén, and Lewmar hardware throughout
- Quality Scandinavian woodwork below
Cons
- Saloon is narrow; feels tight with a full crew below at once
- V-berth forward is snug rather than generous
- Base Touring rig and outboard setup is a meaningful step down from Supreme performance
- Premium price relative to monohull alternatives at the same waterline
