M/Y Princess GiGi , the 124-foot Trident that capsized in the central Bahamas on Feb. 6, is being called a total loss.

According to several businesses that worked on the salvage, towing and hauling of the vessel, the superstructure came off while the fiberglass yacht was still capsized. It was towed like that to Cat Island , the nearest lee shore, where it was refloated.

But because Cat Island wouldn't or couldn't dispose of it, the decision was made to cut it in half and lift it on a barge.

The pieces were taken to Bradford Grand Bahama in Freeport where it remained in late March for investigative work and surveys to determine what caused the yacht to take on water and capsize.

Various sources suggested that the yacht is a total loss. In addition to its hull in two pieces, there are "a couple of Dumpsters" full of ruined material, including Jet Skis, tenders, fiberglass and interior, at the yard.

When workers arrived to try to refloat the yacht, everything from the deck up had broken off, sources said.

"It looked like a bomb went of in it," said one source, who asked not to be identified until investigations are complete. "The whole top was gone."

Once it was refloated, insurance representatives approved cutting the hull to get it on a barge.

"Even before it was cut in half, there was absolutely no way to fix it," a source said.

Doug Hoogs worked as the owner's representative on the construction of the yacht about 10 years ago when she was commissioned as M/Y Full Bloom . But the yard took designs and re-engineered them, Hoogs said, moving the water and fuel tanks forward.

Hoogs told them to move the tanks back, but the yard balked, he said. The following negotiations and mediations resulted in the yard declaring bankruptcy.

Capt. Robert Moore took over the completion of the project and added buoyancy forward that Hoogs described as a high-grade composite material sandwiched around air.

Whether that construction contributed to the capsizing is unclear.

"She had operated eight or nine years with no risk to anyone," said Hoogs, now the U.S. sales representative for Chinese builder Kingship.

"That boat went to Alaska and back, to New England and back. She'd been around."

Another scenario likely contributed to the capsizing, Hoogs said, including a possible system failure.

"Some people are speculating that the garage doors took on water; that's far-fetched," he said. "That garage is watertight where the tender sits.

"It seems to me that some major system broke apart," he said. "No boat can survive that kind of calamity."

Investigations are continuing. Attorneys for the insurer would not discuss the case before deadline.

On Feb. 6, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to Princess GiGi from its Operations Bahamas/Turks & Caicos base to the yacht about 60 miles northeast of Samana Cay.

USCG officers dropped a dewatering pump but it could not keep up with the inflow of water, according to the Coast Guard. All eight crew members aboard were rescued by USCG helicopter.

Contact Editor Lucy Chabot Reed at lucy@the-triton.com.