1990 Custom 57 Fishing

1990 Steel Sail-Assisted Commercial Fishing Vessel — “VIKING FREEDOM”*

For sale · Inquire for details

There are workboats built to punch tickets, and there are vessels that carry a whole fishery’s story in their steel. Viking Freedom belongs to the second group — and she is for sale.

Designed by Capt. Paul G. Forsberg of the legendary Viking Fleet and built by Duckworth Steel Boats in Tarpon Springs, Florida, she was completed in 1990 as a rare sail-assisted commercial fishing and research platform. Her construction story stretches back into the early 1980s, when the keel work and yard history were already tied to Montauk and the Viking name, and she finished under the exacting standards that family is known for. She remains U.S. Coast Guard documented under Official Number 971277, hailing from Montauk, New York, with fishery and coastwise endorsements — a serious paper trail for a serious workboat.

On the Certificate of Documentation she measures 57.0 feet in length, 15.0 feet in breadth, and 8.0 feet in depth, registering 45 gross tons and 36 net tons on a steel hull with mechanical propulsion. Operators who know her have long described the boat closer to 60 feet overall, about 15.3 feet of beam, and roughly 6 feet of draft. Her documentation runs current through May 31, 2027.

What sets her apart is not only the Forsberg pedigree, but the uncommon sail-assist arrangement. On the East Coast and in the Gulf, commercial boats that can work under power and still carry sail for reach and efficiency are rare. Viking Freedom was built for that dual life: a steel commercial platform meant to cover ground, stay out, and earn her keep.

Below decks and through the hull, the design is purposeful. She has six watertight compartments. Tankage and hold capacity are sized for real trips — roughly 800 gallons of fuel, about 600 gallons of fresh water, a live bait well near 600 gallons, and an iced fish hold in the neighborhood of 3,800 pounds. She was never a marina ornament. She was built to work hard seasons: Montauk summers on tuna and swordfish, winters on the Florida Middle Grounds for snapper and grouper, and as a scout vessel ranging, by historical account, from the Canadian Hague Line down toward Trinidad.

Power is commercial and practical. The diesel has been replaced with a unit in a similar class to a Caterpillar 3208. Historical fleet notes put her near 8 knots under power without sail, with a burn in the range of about 1.5 to 2.5 gallons per hour. An inverter is already aboard. Exact engine make, model, and hours can be confirmed on inspection.

She has been sitting and needs TLC. This is not a turnkey showpiece, and I will not present her that way. She is a documented steel workboat with real history, offered as a project for a commercial fisherman, a research conversion, or a serious steel-boat buyer who understands survey, refit, and what a Forsberg / Duckworth hull is worth when brought back to work. Bring your surveyor. Serious inquiries only.

**Highlights**

• USCG documented steel commercial vessel with fishery and coastwise endorsements

• Sail-assisted Forsberg / Duckworth design — uncommon and purpose-built

• Proven Montauk and Tarpon Springs working pedigree

• Six watertight compartments, substantial hold and tankage

• Inverter aboard and replacement diesel in the Cat 3208 class

• Honest condition: sitting, needs TLC, sold as a working project with history

Disclaimer

The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.