RE: Shockwave 26 Brushless.
Hi Rich,
The charge of the battery, or the way it's attached doesn't affect the heating up, just shortens the runtime.
Running 3-4 minutes at half throttle is a long time and is most likely the cause of the fire.
Did you try the warranty thing? (don't mention the half throttle running...)
You don't need to buy another boat, just fix this one and get a better ESC and you're up and running!
Regards, Jan.