Design and Construction
The 920 mimics its predecessors with hand-laid sandwich construction using polyester resin and PVC closed-cell foam core throughout the main hull, amas, and deck, and each ama is divided by a pair of structural bulkheads that promote rigidity and create three separate watertight compartments. The builder claims any one of those compartments carries enough positive buoyancy to float the whole vessel, while a forward crash bulkhead in the main hull contains collision spoil. The pivoting akas are solid glass with unidirectional fabric oriented for strength, and at their critical pivot points stainless steel inserts spread the load into a unified structural network once locked. When unfolded, finely tuned torsion cables, rigid aluminum locking struts, and tensioned running backs give the boat monocoque integrity, and sea trials bore this out: the trimaran felt solid and moved as one with no apparent weakness at its articulating joints.
Rig and Handling
A high-performance two-spreader carbon-fiber rig carries a fully battened mainsail with a fat roach and a tall, skinny genoa, all managed through Frederiksen hardware including a ballslide luff system and a two-speed mainsheet traveler. Deck, cockpit, and rig were developed for convenient shorthanded sailing: virtually every control line runs back to a smallish cockpit, with adjustable jib lead pendants on the cabintop and runner tails led along the after akas to rope clutches. Standard Andersen 28 self-tailers handle halyards and reefing on the cabintop, while Andersen 40s serve primary duty on the coamings. The boat can be handled singlehanded, and a 9.9-horsepower four-stroke Yamaha outboard brackets off the stern, linked to the rudder to aid maneuvering and pushing the light 3,968-pound hull at six-plus knots. With the turn of a cockpit winch the amas nest in minutes, and with floats folded she maneuvers well in tight spaces despite outboard power.
Performance
Writing in Cruising World, testers found her a very good pocket cruiser, trailerable and nicely detailed, fun to sail with no real faults for her intended purpose. She is a very quick boat yet stable, churning to weather in light air aided by good sails and a sizable centerboard, and accelerating off the wind in total control under a large asymmetrical kite. Yachting Monthly recorded 12 to 20 knots under sail with a proven offshore passage-making record, though the blistering speed brings a lively motion and a fair amount of spray flying aft from the bow and lee float. With the centerboard hauled up she creeps up shallow creeks, and a shipped draft of 1 foot 6 inches puts her close to shore.
Accommodations
The main hull holds private V-berth quarters forward, a fully enclosed head, a working galley with dedicated sink and space for an optional alcohol or kerosene stove, and a cozy saloon with longitudinal settees flanking a fold-up dinette plus a sizable hanging locker. Satin-finished mahogany, white ceilings, and upholstered seats dress the interior, and the main cabin has standing headroom with ambient fixed-glass windows and very good visibility. The boat sleeps four to five, with Yachting Monthly noting comfortable bunks for four and seating for six around a permanent table, yet calling the accommodation modest and even cramped against a 30-foot monohull, lacking full standing headroom and with the centerboard casing intruding into the narrow main cabin. A sprayhood, cockpit tent, and cockpit table extend living space outward in all weathers.
Variants
The Racing version built alongside the Cruiser added a longer boom and larger mainsail on the same hull. The Extreme, launched in 2003, kept the same center hull as the Touring but gained wider curved beams, longer floats, a taller rig, and a deeper full-carbon rudder and centerboard for performance. The Touring, produced since 2005 and based on the 1996 Cruising and Racing hull, adopted curved beams similar to the Extreme and took the Racing's longer boom, offering less heeling and shallow draft.
The Verdict
The Dragonfly 920 is a nifty little cruiser with good jets, shallow draft, and complete albeit diminutive accommodations, equally at home on a trailer, in a marina slip, or offshore. It asks the buyer to accept trimaran compromises below deck in exchange for speed, stability, and a folding beam no monohull can match.
Pros
- Folds from 22-foot sailing beam to 8-foot 4-inch trailering width in minutes
- Sandwich construction with watertight ama compartments and crash bulkhead
- Singlehanded-capable rig with all controls at the helm
- 12–20 knot speeds with stable, level multihull motion
- Shallow 1-foot 5-inch draft with board up for creek crawling
Cons
- Modest, cramped accommodations versus a 30-foot monohull
- No full standing headroom below; centerboard casing intrudes
- Lively motion and spray at speed
- Outboard power limits auxiliary range on 7 gallons of gasoline
