Circuit Breaker issue

I have a 1988 Force 35hp that I just purchased couple of weeks ago.
ran fine until the last trip and it died 20 yards from the dock (Thank God)
now, in the yard, there is no electric to the motor. I checked the circuit breaker
and it keeps popping out - even with no battery connected it pops out.

Is it the sign of a bad breaker ????
I bought a replacement off of E-Bay but it won't be here until next week or so.
How do you check a breaker ?? Can you bypass it to check for other possible electrical issues ??
Thanks.

There are several on E-Bay with the same part number and picture.
Force Circuit Breaker F510460 1983-1994 25hp 35hp 40hp 45hp
So it must be a part of their design.

Where in your circuit/rig is it located? A wire could have chafed and is being shorted. Also check that all connections are clean and tight. Could check resistance of wires/cables, as I've seen them look OK, but won't carry any load. Corrosion causes heat causes increased resistance.

But I'd say, that an unenergized breaker that won't reset is fried. I've never seen one like that in a marine installation ... that looks like a cheaper auto-type part.

I have also seen dynamic moving parts (neutral start switch) ruined when sprayed w/ protective coatings like. BoeShield T-9 spray. It is a waxy coating and protects 'fixed' parts or assemblies really well, but do NOT use on moving parts!

Some circuit breakers are just a spring type contact that spring open when they get hot. Over time the spring looses the spring force and will trip at a lower amperage than it is rated. It can make it worse if it is tripped repeatedly even if manually tripped.

That does look more like an automotive type breaker. You can get those at any decent auto parts store if you don't want to wait a week.