AUSTIN -- An investigation into the capsizing of Texas A&M's Cynthia Woods sailboat that killed one crew member may pivot on the vessel's two previous groundings, one of which caused more than $1,800 in damage to the boat's hull and keel.

The sailboat capsized after the keel broke off June 6 during a regatta, killing one crew member and stranding five others for 26 hours in the Gulf of Mexico.

The keel had been repaired in March 2007 after the vessel ran aground, according to maintenance records released by the university Friday.

The boat was also damaged in July 2006 in another accidental grounding.

After last year's grounding, damage to the keel and hull required $1,862 in repairs.

But the official in charge of investigating the capsizing warned against reading too much into the earlier incidents.

"Vessels run aground, and vessels get repairs," said Jay Kimbrough, the Texas A&M University System's deputy chancellor and general counsel. "Just because it ran aground does not give me an 'a-ha' moment.

"That's why cars have bumpers. The question is to what extent was it damaged, how was it repaired and was it fully repaired."

Herschel Payne, the owner of Galveston Yacht Service, where the boat was repaired in 2007, told The Houston Chronicle that the ship's design was faulty.

Payne said that he did not care for the keel's bolt arrangement or the interior supporting structure of the 38-foot sailboat.

"They just built it wrong," Payne said.

The company that built the boats, North Carolina-based Cape Fear Yacht Works, has said it stands by its products. Company President Kent Mitchell said the boat was built "as well as or better than" those made by any manufacturer. The boat should have lasted 20 years with no major problems, Mitchell said.

"It astounds me that this has happened," Mitchell told the Chronicle. "This would not have failed in the normal course of events."

The man who claims final responsibility for the Cynthia Woods' design said the ship met industry standards, and he blamed the repair work.

"You have to look at what happened when the boat ran aground and was repaired," naval architect Bruce Marek said.

The keel, a finlike piece extending about 5 feet from the bottom of the hull, is encased in fiberglass, contains lead and weighs about 5,000 pounds.

The only known damage to the sailboat from the July 2006 grounding was the loss of a cover for a navigation light on the bow, records show.

A recovery crew found the keel from the Cynthia Woods on June 18, more than 30 miles offshore. Investigators hope it will help them determine why the sailboat sank during a regatta from Galveston to Veracruz, Mexico.

Safety officer Roger Stone died in the accident. Other crew members, who were stranded at sea for more than a day before their rescue, credited him with pushing them to safety.

Officials think the keel came off shortly after the race began.

The Texas A&M University System and the Coast Guard are investigating the sinking. Four A&M students and two safety officers were on board.

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Posted by: On: 7/1/2008

Comment Title: Remember Roger Stone
Please keep the investigation under scrutiny until it is completed. The heroic safety officer deserves no less.

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