Why is boat and ships she and not he?

Answer 1

At the time of the ancient mariners even as far back as 500 BC, most were 'married to the sea' due to their love of the ocean. The ships were their liveihood, their home and their love. As a compliment to the woman they loved they named their sailing vessels after them, telling them that it would remind them of the ones they left behind for the months and sometimes years they have would be gone. The 'she' was also given for things of great beauty found in the sea.. ie "Thar she blows!" depicting the massive water spout seen by whaling ships of old which almost all had female names. Mariners were very paranoid about any female being on board their ships because they thought the the presence of another woman would cause the mariners great tragedy.

Now in modern times many ships are called more masculine names, but if one listens closely they will ALWAYS here 'she's a fine ship!'

As a side note, in WW2 the Germans referred to the KMS Bismarck as a "He" because of it's power.