RedactedNarrative: V1, only vessel involved was being given a test ride after Hurricane Ian. V1 bogged down and stalled out twice after which it caught fire and settled on the sandbar in 2 ft of water just south of the Tom Adams Bridge. Sole occupant escaped uninjured.
  I interviewed the vessel operator. He explained to me that he was performing a test ride for the owner of the vessel after Hurricane Ian when the vessel, described as an 18 ft Bayliner bogged down and stalled out twice. While trying to turn the engine back on after the second stall, it caught fire. According to OP1 he heard no explosion, but that flames came from under the outboard engine cowling. OP1 attempted to put the fire out with the on board fire extinguisher, but failed to do so before it started to consume the boat. OP1 exited the boat in approximately 2 ft of water and it drifted up onto a sandbar and continued to burn while he contacted 911. No one else was on board and OP1 was uninjured