Her flat sheerline and swept-back cabin profile.would not look out of line with any other European boat at a boatshow. To my eye, she's handsome, and apparently I'm not alone. According to Scandinavian Yachts importer Mogens Nordem in Annapolis, Maryland, Quorning Boats is building one a week in Denmark. On the Canadian-built boat we sailed, the fiberglass tooling and finish work in general were beautiful.

She is also fast, having won her class in the two-handed, 2,000-mile Round Britain Race in 1985, and dominated the Micro Multihull Worlds in England that same year.

Dragonfly has to be demounted for trailering. I'd guess two people can put her together in about 45 minutes with practice. Her amas use stainless straps to bolt onto the akas. The akas themselves are aluminum spar-section extrusions. Waterstays leading from the amas to just above waterline on the main hull take the strain.

The mainsheet and traveller are mounted within easy reach of the helmsman on the after extrusion running across the cockpit at seat height. It keeps others out of the helmsman's way, while still allowing him to get to the jib sheet winches on the cabintop. Dragonfly was one of the easiest boats to sail from the tramp because it's on the same level as the deck, within easy reach of all the sail controls.

Under the helmsman's feet is a huge lazerette for deck gear. Abaft the cockpit is a small, flat afterdeck just a few inches above waterline. This deck makes both a great boarding and swimming platform, and a convenient place to keep mooring lines and anchors.

Dragonfly, like most trimarans, employs a daggerboard to prevent leeway. Centerboards leave an open slot in the bottom of the hull that generates enormous drag at the speeds multihulls go. Even if the slot is covered with flaps, which are vulnerable to tearing off, the resulting speed loss is significant. Daggerboards, by contrast, fill up their slot, presenting a smooth profile to the water.

The problem with a daggerboard on a fast boat is that it doesn't give when it hits a submerged log or a sandbar. Argonauta uses a crush box behind its daggerboard that absorbs impact in much the same way a steering wheel collapses in a car accident. (It also has to be rebuilt after it's served its purpose.) Somersault uses a longer slot. F-27 relies on the immense strength of the construction of the board and trunk. Dragonfly's designer chose to angle the neutral-buoyancy daggerboard aft to deflect the force of a grounding, and to build a case strong enough to withstand a collision at speed.

The cabin is light, simple, and comfortable. Large portlights let light in. A couple of small galley flats aft take the stove and sink. A settee to port faces a two-part hinged table to starboard. Pilot berths port and starboard pull out to form comfortable single sea berths. A narrow vee berth fits up in the forepeak. There's a small bilge sump forward near the daggerboard - all important for keeping the interior dry. All told, the simplicity of the narrow cabin works in its favor. Ventilation depends solely on hatches, though; I'd add a couple of watertight vents for wet weather.

Like all the other boats, Dragonfly has a fully battened main and uses small jibs. The rig is easy to handle, heaves to reliably, and sails well under main alone. The jib was on a Harken roller-fuller, with the drum mounted forward in a recessed, self-bailing well. To slow the boat down, just roll up the jib. It's a convenient arrangement, if the boat will not be trailed much. If the rig will be raised and lowered often, care has_to be taken to keep the aluminum extrusion from kinking.

Dragonfly's very simplicity is what makes her .so endearing. She keeps her sailors close to the water, and in very direct contact with wind and wave. She'd very likely appeal to sailors moving up from small daysailing catamarans.

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