DRAGONFLY Trimarans User Forum

Dear Dragonfly enthusiasts,

As a Dutch sailor, living in a wet and windy country with many shallow creeks and wetlands, I am wild about the Dragonfly 800. Based on tasting the pleasures others have experienced with this boat and shared on the internet, I like to enter this world. Never seen one sailing in the real world, though, but I definitely want to experience its high speed and stability.
However, before buying such a sleek beauty, I want to know its potentials for greater adventures as cruising, going at sea and venturing a possible crossing of the Atlantic, reaching South-America for instance.
So I wonder what can be the real setbacks for a sailor who wants to travel singlehanded with a DF800?
One for certain is its small cabin. But since there never will be a large crew I could find a solution in sacrificing some space on either the left or right side of the ship to lockers, a water maker etc. etc.

But there is much more to know.
Is the DF800 strong or robust enough to cross high seas and stormy weather?
Is it possible to install a radar on a DF800?
Is anyone using a windvane steering construction. If not, why so?
So far I have only seen cranes hauling the boat in and out of the water. I suppose it can also be launched from a slope?

I am sorry if some questions are signs of incurable stupidity, but they live in a mind that has never reached a higher intellectual level but that of sea-level.

Looking forward to all your ideas and many thanks beforehand.

Fred

Hoi Fred, welkom aan boord, fellow Dutchman in the US here.... There is another Dutch DF owner on the forum, his boat is in Enkhuyzen..... I'm sure he'll chime in.

Most people will tell you that an unmodified 800 is probably not the best tool for ocean crossings. You can add self steering to anything, and radar as well, but by the time you add batteries, generation and supplies you are adding a lot of weight which would negatively impact performance and stability.

Before that even, and the designer will state so himself, it wasn't built to ocean specs. Things are just not heavy and beefy enough. Can you upgrade? Sure, but now we're back to the weight thing. Will it take you through a force 7? Probably. An 8? maybe. 9-10? probably not. When crossing oceans you don't get to pick your weather you have to plan for the worst.

All that said, in the end it is more the skipper than the boat. People have crossed oceans in row boats. It all depends on your tolerance for risk. For coastal cruising no further than a day or so from land, properly equipped and skippered the boat will work. This is what I plan on doing.

Finally, yes it can be launched on a ramp (slope) behind a vehicle. Even folded however it exceeds legal width for over the road. Disassembly is required. There are various solutions.... here's mine:

http://www.dragonfly-trimarans.org/phpB ... .php?t=262

Here's another solution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O98-2UB0KRA