We have not sailed this dinghy yet but its potential is so great that we thought you might like a look at the basics.

There are three in use at the moment that Viz Marine consider prototypes being developed ready for production in the Autumn. A number of people have sailed them and all unofficial reports are that it performs very well indeed.

The design is quite innovative but the first thing you will notice is the superb seating which can move backwards and forwards 'while you are sailing' to trim the boat or make you more comfortable. Fancy being able to stretch your legs out on a relaxing downwind leg, or trim out the boat for that just a little bit extra in a hard race.

The seats are on runners and swivels, ( the design has been protected so ask VIZ for permission before you build your own) which allows you to tilt the seat for comfort and visibility when heeled… a very nice touch. More importantly it allows you to very easily fit a custom seat to suit you or your disability, the flat floor with its runners also helps to make this a easy very job.

All the controls are in easy reach and the sliding seat is a dream enabling you to just get the reach as comfortable as you like.

The steering is also streets ahead of anything I have seen before, the central steering shaft which is ‘geared’ to the rudder stock has nil slack at all times. The joystick can be slid along the shaft to get the optimum placing and you can have it back seat, front seat or both….. what more can you ask?

The Artemis is a through hull design in that you can look through the crew area stem to stern meaning you can get at everything. The spinnaker lives in the bows area and is easy to get at, any water that comes in through the spinnaker chute simply runs down the flat floor and out the open back.

The narrow easily driven hull allows the use of standard ‘lifts’ to get crew in and out and gives perfect visibility in all conditions….. you can also reach the sides to ‘grab on’ if you need a little extra support.

It is often said that ‘if it looks right, it probably is right’ and the Artemis certainly looks right, its clean lines are very nice.

The build quality is very high indeed, but the use of carbon may increase the unit cost. VIZ hope to retail the Artemis ready to sail at around £19,000 which will include a keel lifting device.

The whole concept is very well thought out and extremely well designed with simplicity very evident as a priority.