Veer V13 Jon Boat Reviewed in 2025

A Microskiff Jon Boat

Is the Veer V13 a New Breed of Boat? Not Really, But It’s Still Pretty Darn Cool. The V13 is a new product launched by Lund Boats, makers of versatile and hardy aluminum jon boats.

This boat, however, is made of rotomolded plastic. With its modern looks, striking white or seafoam green hull, and useful layout, this cheap skiff is really interesting if you want to own a microskiff.

With a casting deck in addition to a cockpit where the driver can stand or sit on a padded bench, the V13 has attributes that make jon boats so popular, while going beyond. Its size makes it even more transport-friendly for solo anglers.

The boat is available with a conventional 9.9 gas outboard or Mercury’s new electric outboard. The 9.9 is fast and fun; with the electric, it’s nearly silent, low maintenance, and produces no direct emissions.

The V13 isn’t a boat for everyone. Many will have a lot of fun exploring and fishing and do it more easily. It’s cheap to own, easy to transport and fun to use, and just right for what it is—a modern microskiff.

Who’s the Veer V13 Built For?

A microskiff like the V13 may appear a new design to many people, but they’ve been around for a few years. Based loosely on the larger flats skiffs like those built by Maverick or Hewes, these are tiny, single-person versions that borderline on overpowered paddleboards or kayaks.

Microskiffs are very popular in some circles—mostly single anglers who want to cover more distance than they could in a kayak. In some areas, like the backcountry of the Florida Keys, this little boat would be a ton of fun for an afternoon of chasing bonefish with a fly. If this sounds like you, the Veer is worth checking out.

Regardless, the V13 is an interesting breed of boat that might appeal to a lot of people. Capable of fast cruising with the 9.9-horse outboard with one or two people on board, this boat has everything you need for a great day on the water with very little hassle. Weighing only about 850 pounds loaded on the trailer, any vehicle on the road could safely tow it.

But there are many things this boat can’t do, which has to be balanced with its fun factor. It’s so small and narrow that comparing it to anything more than a kayak seems overselling. But many fishing kayakers have taken an interest in this boat, and some have switched from their sit on top kayaks.

It can hold two people, but not much in the way of heavy gear at the same time. It’s a small and light boat, so it’s not heading out in anything other than mostly flat water. All in all, it’s very cool but has limited appeal.

Construction and Design

This boat is certainly unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Like a designer dog breed, you have to imagine a classic flats skiff mated with a fishing kayak. Throw in a little aluminum jon boat ancestry, and you get the idea.

First, the good and the ugly. To be precise, it’s made of kayak plastic—foam-filled rotomolded polyethylene. This durable material is ubiquitous at the beach kayak rental stand, but it’s popping up everywhere now. Those new-style Yeti fishing coolers? Yep, those are rotomolded plastic as well.

The material is very tough, and you do not need to worry about damage from bumping into docks, rocks, or bumps while towing it around. It will scratch, but it takes effort from a sharp object. Scratches are generally superficial, but they’re also more difficult to repair than fiberglass.

The biggest problem with rotomolded polyethylene is that it isn’t very UV resistant. Years in the sun will make it brittle. It will also get hot in the sun and become soft, making it prone to warping and even more scratches. Older kayaks are known to “oil can,” where the hulls deform from sun  and being stored incorrectly. This shouldn’t be a factor with as large and beefy an object as the V13, but it’s worth considering. If I were buying one of these, I’d ensure it was stored in a garage or under a good sun cover year-round.

The good thing about plastic is that it makes the boat cheaper than a regular fiberglass boat. It’s also lightweight, although exactly how much is questionable. My guess is that if you found an aluminum or fiberglass boat of the same dimensions, the V13 would weigh a little more.

Since the boat is foam-filled, it is theoretically unsinkable. It’s also got a ton of buoyancy for such a svelt hull.

The entire deck is covered with EVA foam flooring, which makes for excellent traction while protecting the boat’s deck. A removable cushioned bench seat is aft, positioned to allow for easy operation of the tiller-steered outboard.

The seat is wide and large enough to be used as a poling platform for shallow water silent maneuvering. There are also two integrated cup holders and space below the seat for the gas outboard’s three-gallon fuel tank.

Just forward of the seat are two large lockers built into the floor, which can be used as coolers, bait wells, or gear storage. There are receptacles for an optional standing grab rail, allowing for more stability when moving around the boat. There’s also plenty of space to strap down a large cooler.

Along the hull sides are accessory tracks. You can buy rod holders, cup holders, tool holders, and mounting plates to hold things like fish finders or your phone.

The forward half of the deck has a flush platform, perfect for casting or passenger seating. You can store small objects below it, like your life jacket and tackle box. You can remove the casting platform if you’d rather have the forward half open for gear or pets. If you had the standing rail with a large cooler strapped down, a passenger could sit on it facing forward and be pretty comfortable. The bow area also has a deck bungee to hold loose gear. 

Electric Motor Option and Eco-Friendliness

The Veer V13 is being marketed as an eco-conscious choice, an electric fishing boat with zero emissions that won’t cause harm when you veer off course to more pristine eco-systems.

Calling this boat eco-conscious or green is a tough pill to swallow when buying a 382-pound piece of non-recyclable plastic. But let’s entertain Veer’s concept and discuss Mercury’s new—and very cool—electric outboard option.

Mercury’s Avator 7.5e is sleeker than any other electric outboard. If looks alone can convince you to go electric, the Avator does a better job than Torqeedo and ePropulsion’s offerings.

But, as good as the specs of the Avator are, they are disappointing for this boat. Veer has made an interesting marketing choice, placing a 3.5-horsepower-equivalent electric side-by-side with a 9.9-horse gas outboard. It’s almost a boast of the strengths of the 4-stroke gas outboard.

The Avator will push the V13 to about 4.3 knots, max. And while using that much power, you will be limited to less than an hour on the water. The 9.9 gas motor will easily plane this boat with two people and can probably get up to 15 or 20 knots. You’d have several hours of range at that speed and can cover many miles.

That means that Veer is effectively selling two very different boats. A slow-moving electric fishing boat with the Avator 7.5e and a go-fast planing motorboat that can get out there to explore and play with the 9.9 gas motor.

There are certainly positives to going electric; for many people, they are worth these negatives. Electric motors need no maintenance, use no gas or oil, and you can recharge it with every car trip or overnight at home. But the best things are its zero direct emissions, near-silent operation, and push-button start-up, which beats yanking a pull cord every time.

Still, most anglers and explorers won’t find those factors worth giving up fast travel. A boat like this is simply fun to get it on plane and go, go, go. This electric motor can’t get the V13 to plane, so it doesn’t offer the same experience that that 9.9 gas motor does.

So, the four stroke will push this jon boat/microskiff to more than 15 knots, while the Avator will go, maybe 5 kts. And, don’t forget, the slower electric option will increase this boat’s cost by almost 20 percent.

Mercury has recently announced two new Avator models that may solve some of these problems. The Avator 20e (2,200-watt output) and 35e (3,700-watt output) are 5 and 9.9 horsepower-equivalent motors. However, they are not as yet available to order with your Veer. 

Options and Outfitting

The standard V13 package has a galvanized trailer, portable navigation lights, and Marinemat EVA foam flooring.

Building and outfitting your Veer V13 is easy on their website. Choose a white or seafoam green hull color, then pick the Mercury 9.9 gas or Avator 7.5e electric outboard.

Available extras include the standing grab rail and a mooring cover. You can purchase accessories for your cockpit track rails.

One of the best options is the shallow water anchoring system. This is nothing more than a few long fiberglass poles that fit in receptacles found on the boat’s bow. Stick the pole in the bottom and secure the boat anywhere—easy cheesy. The anchor poles are stored in clips along the side of the hull when not in use.

Veer V13 Price/Quality

When you look at the size of the boat, the price is a little off-putting. Starting at $11,995, the standard Veer V13 comes with a trailer and Mercury 9.9 4-stroke outboard. Upgrading to the slower Avator 7.5e electric outboard will set you back another $2,100.

While the quality of the boat is very good, one would need to carefully consider resale value before making a purchase. Plastic kayaks are good for many things, but holding their value is not one of them. Perhaps most problematic is the small pool of interested buyers for a niche boat like the Veer V13.

The fact that it comes with a trailer and outboard makes up for the price a little. It’s cheaper than any fiberglass boats we know of and more expensive than any plastic kayak. So, does that make the price just right? If you fall in love with it and it suits your lifestyle, it might be a fun way to spend $12,000. If, on the other hand, you’re just looking to purchase your first boat, there are probably better choices.

Do We Recommend the Veer V13?

If one thing is certain, the V13 is not for everyone. It’s a fishing skiff, which could also be a lot of fun as a birdwatching or eco-touring boat in the backcountry or on lakes and rivers. Its low capacity and small size lean toward people looking for a more capable alternative to a fishing kayak.

If you want to keep to the flat-water skiff design, an old Hewes or Maverick backcountry skiff might need a little work but would hold its value better in the long run.

If you want a true super-light microskiff, know there are other options. Many models have come and gone over the years, but you can find information and used listings on sites like microskiff.com. Polycraft makes the 300 Tuffy, which has a higher capacity, a wider beam, and sells for about 55 percent of the cost of a Veer. Gheenoes are popular in Florida with backcountry and freshwater anglers, and Bote makes the very neat Rover (fiberglass) and Rover Aero (inflatable) microskiff paddleboards. 

Finally, there are tons of jon boats out there that might fit the bill.