The Ethan Allen was loaded with elderly passengers, mostly from Michigan and Ohio, when it tipped over while on a trip to view fall foliage along Lake George.

Authorities said they suspected that the boat might have foundered in the wake of a passing vessel on what was otherwise a clear day on a placid lake.

Testimony by state inspectors indicated that they had routinely listed the capacity of the Ethan Allen at 48 passengers as set by the U.S. Coast Guard in the 1960s. The state took over inspections of the craft in 1979.

The canvas canopy on the 40-foot boat was replaced by a wooden one in 1989, and the plaintiffs contended that the heavier canopy made the Ethan Allen unstable or the 48-passenger limit was outdated because it was based on the average weight of 140 pounds accepted in the 1960s.

The state has since increased the average weight per passenger to 174 pounds.

Yesterday the highest Court in NY held that the Navigation Law which requires inspections of such crafts and levies heavy fines to owners who violate the safety rules does not provide a right of a private citizen to sue the State of NY for negligence when the inspectors fail in their job to certify the boats safety or themselves act negligently. The State has sovereign immunity unless a special law is passed allowing such lawsuits.