Thread: Is it safe to keep using a melted pole trolling motor batter?

Hello everyone, I am a newbie and I have a quick question.

Yesterday I mounted a trolling motor on my kayak for the very first time ever, I plugged it on a brand new deep cycle battery. After about 1 hour of trolling I noticed a weird smell and it was the negative pole that had been melted and some the plastic around it as well. This probably happened because the connection was not really tight. (Negative pole photos attached)

My question is if I it is safe to keep using this battery or if I must replace it to avoid having it explode or catch fire while I am far from the shore.

If somebody can help me that would be really appreciated!