DRAGONFLY Trimarans User Forum

Today, we met with the owner of a new DF 35.

The differences between a DF 1000 and a DF 35 must be seen in the flesh to be appreciated. They are considerable.

I will post a few photos of us rafted up in Garrison Bay in the San Juan Islands in Washington State.

Please click on any of the photos to see them enlarged!

Steve B.
Flexible Flyer
DF1000

Steve,
I can second your observation. I have been around Valentin's 35 for the past 9 months. It is amazing to see how the boat has evolved. Down below is amazing! His boat and my boat we stored next to each other in the boat yard for winter storage. We were stored in a back corner of the yard, real out of the way, and you always had people coming around to check out the boats.

It is truly an amazing boat.

Only if I win the lottery now!

Ted

Having owned a 920 cruising, 1000, and 1200, and sailed the 35:

(Note: I removed some comments about other models in this post from an earlier time because this thread is about 1000 vs. 35.)

The 35 is a terrific boat and a great performer, and some of the technical enhancements are noteworthy. It's light-air windward performance is the best of the DFs I've sailed. I love the high-tech rigging and the stainless hardware at the beam attachments.

I think the 1000 center hull is the nicest looking hull shape of the Dragonflies, even today. The later models have more functionally-determined shapes that (to my eye) are less visually appealing, although the newer curved cross-beams do add great visual appeal -- making the boats with curved beams look more graceful, like a bird in flight.

The 35 is higher performance and therefore more exciting to sail compared with the 1000. It's also quieter under power and (with the sail-drive) is not as likely to have prop vibration issues. The helm is also more neutral, as the 35 tends to have some weather helm when overpowered.

One drawback of the 35 is there is no facility to mount instruments at the binnacle guard, like the 1000 has. I'm not a fan of mounting the radar/GPS in the forward cockpit bulkhead and I think some alternative could be made in that regard. Ideally the helmsman should have the GPS and radar close and comfortable to use.

Steve B. wrote:Today, we met with the owner of a new DF 35.

Steve -- I'm curious about the wind generator mounting choice on that boat... Does it allow folding? and if yes what are the details? Any reason why the pole couldn't be built into the aft end of the hull?

Double Horizon wrote:
Steve B. wrote:Today, we met with the owner of a new DF 35.
Steve -- I'm curious about the wind generator mounting choice on that boat... Does it allow folding? and if yes what are the details? Any reason why the pole couldn't be built into the aft end of the hull?

I didn't ask, and currently don't have enough internet access to even look at photos, (at anchor) so I'm not sure about the folding. The boat is well outfitted, so I'd imagine it doesn't get in the way of folding.

Hi, Did you have any discussion over his choice of sails? Was it a standard one as supplied by the yard?

The sails were supplied by U.K. (Actually made in China).
There is a guy in Port Townsend who measured the boat for the sails.

Double Horizon wrote:I think the 1000 center hull is the nicest looking hull shape of the Dragonflies, even today.

Saw a 1000 yesterday and have to agree, the stern section looks very cool, if not too "space maximizing". The whole center hull looks like a motorboat racer. Steve, Is the solar panel you have above the stern sufficient to keep all power running without motor?

Are there differences in sailing 1000 and 35? I take it controls are the same, so it's just size, right?

EarthBM wrote:
Double Horizon wrote:Steve, Is the solar panel you have above the stern sufficient to keep all power running without motor?
Here is an another way to install a solar panel:
http://dragonfly-trimarans.org/phpBB/vi ... .php?t=227
I do also have a MS Excel sheet to calculate incoming and outgoing battery energy. I have made my consumption profile of outgoing energy and I do have a local statistics history of solar energy. You need to find out your local statistics.
I could email it to you if needed, unfortunately it is in Finnish

Thanks Mika, could you send please? Finnish is not a problem, I've lived in countries and think most language barriers are artificial.

This is for the mooring vs slip calculus.

The arch had the radar on it when I bought the boat, but last spring I pulled the mast, redid the wiring etc, and moved the radar. While I was at it, I installed long distance wifi with a masthead antenna.

The boat came with 2 32 watt flexible panels which I have permanently mounted on the amas, and I installed a 120 watt panel on the arch.
The whole solar input goes into a BlueSky MPPT controller.
I have 2 Trojan golf cart batteries.

Between the reworking the refrigerator (another thread on the forum) and replacing all the halogen lights with Sailor's Solutions LED's, we are now able to sail and live comfortably without needing to use the engine for power (at least in the summertime when we use the boat a lot).

EarthBM wrote:
Are there differences in sailing 1000 and 35? I take it controls are the same, so it's just size, right?

There are differences in the way they sail. The 35 is higher performance and the steering is more neutral. The 1000 has slightly more heel when pressed. The 1000 amas are narrow-displacement shapes (like the DF-25) with a finer aft section whereas the 35 has more buoyancy in the amas and they are narrow semi-displacement (wider flat aft sections) as are all the newer Dragonflies including the 920 and 1200 and later.

Still torn between DF 35 and 1000... On my 13-point evaluation matrix they are dead even, ahead of 3 other alternatives.

Why did Quorning take down all info on 1000 from the website? Not even old magazine articles...

Are there any polar charts for 1000? Or alternatively, is there a rule of thumb multiplier (like 0.75) I can apply to the DF 35 chart published in Yachting World (http://www.dragonfly.dk/pdf-archive/DF3 ... 007_en.pdf)

EarthBM wrote:Still torn between DF 35 and 1000... On my 13-point evaluation matrix they are dead even, ahead of 3 other alternatives.

Why did Quorning take down all info on 1000 from the website? Not even old magazine articles...

Are there any polar charts for 1000? Or alternatively, is there a rule of thumb multiplier (like 0.75) I can apply to the DF 35 chart published in Yachting World (http://www.dragonfly.dk/pdf-archive/DF3 ... 007_en.pdf)

This is just so obvious to me there is no need for a chart. There is only one decision point! Your budget. If you have the money to afford a boat like the DF-35 don't even consider the 1000. It's just a MUCH better boat, all around.

Money is part of my decision chart, and I think I weighed it against other factors about right...

Looking at used prices, is 35 three times better than 1000?[/i]

EarthBM wrote:Money is part of my decision chart, and I think I weighed it against other factors about right...

Looking at used prices, is 35 three times better than 1000?[/i]

No, the sunset is as beautiful from the seat of a row boat.

The difference is not based on purchase price, it is based on total cost of ownership. TCO = buy price + fees and operating costs + maintenance and upgrades + selling expense - sale price. If you assume both are equal (they won't be) in operating/maintenance costs, the buy-sell might be a net gain in US dollars for both boats -- if past trends continue. Read about my ownership history experience (scroll to Post: Tue 12 Oct 10, 17:32) http://www.dragonfly-trimarans.org/phpB ... highlight=

It still comes down to your budget for how much $ you feel you are willing or able to sink into a boat, given that TCO is uncertain until it's sold.

Double Horizon wrote:
Steve B. wrote:Today, we met with the owner of a new DF 35.
Steve -- I'm curious about the wind generator mounting choice on that boat... Does it allow folding? and if yes what are the details? Any reason why the pole couldn't be built into the aft end of the hull?

Yes, it can be removed, but you need wrenches (and propeller blades need to be removed too to store it in the ama). It's on a tripod, and this is the only solution that stays out of the way when under sail.

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