Well the wife and I went out chasing the trout. When we got anchored out we caught our first 2 fish. After this it got a little hairy. We heard a pop and smelt electric smoke. I thought the Amp went bad and shut it off and finished landing my 3rd trout for the morning. It was then that the smoke got worse and when I opened the console to investigate I found the fire causing the problem. I got the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. the flames kept coming back and the extinguisher was empty. I grabbed the wash down hose and put the flames out. I could still hear the cracking and shut the battery power down.
After checking everything out and making sure the power was off, I told my wife it was OK and got her back to fishing to take her mind off of it. I made a phone call and got the Terrebonne Parrish Sheriffs Water Patrol on the way to tow us in.
We then managed to put the smack down on the trout and put #50 in the boat after about 1 hour. About 15 mins later the Water Patrol showed up and towed us back in. We were still back at the dock by 10am.
On the way in I contacted my Dealer and they said to bring it in as soon as possible. I also informed her that we had the Camp reserved and my brother was taking vacation to go out and fish. She told me they would do what they could to have it fixed for me. When we arrived at the dealer she informed me that she had been in touch with the manufacture and that they would take care of everything. She also asked if I had anything in my console damaged from the fire that the manufacture would replace that also.
To say the least I have been very pleased with the customer service from both parties to get my boat back in shape and running.
So on that note I would like to that both Southern Outdoor Marine and Blue Wave for there prompt and professional headlong of this. I have been in touch with Steven Parks and he has assured me that the problem will be fixed and is already being addressed with there harness vendor.
I would like to encourage everyone to check there fire extinguisher and know how to isolate there power incase something happens. Also if you have water patrol have a means to get in touch with them. I am also installing a isolated that will allow me to isolate my engine and my electronics power that way if there is another time I can still crank my engine and get home.
Mark