Is there a historical reason why a ship is called a 'she'?

Question

or are some refered to as 'he'?

thanks :)

Answer 1

well it depends on where it was created. you see i'm from Russia and in Russia everything is eather a she, he or it. its weird, but once you grow up there...you just understand what is what. it depends on what the world ends with. Fork in Russia is a she, table is a he. it sounds like nonecence in english. same with a ship. if you say it in Russian it will be a she, maybe in other European countries as well

Answer 2

Ships are referred to in the female gender because the captain was basically "married" to his ship back in the old days. Therefore, the ship was the captain's lady.

Answer 3

George M. forgot one......

She always shows her top and hides her bottom.

Answer 4

and dont forget the ever loving: men are always spending money on her

Answer 5

Yes, for the same reason as most lands are spoken of as female. However some famous ships were called he, being named after males; 2 ships I know of were the Russian 'Karl Marx' & the German 'Bismark'

Answer 6

I think it is also supposed to be good luck.

Answer 7

Basically, all man made articles that carry things e.g. passengers, goods etc.are called 'she' .Named because 'SHE' is  the female gender, ( human and animal) who also carry, that is,  their offspring.

Answer 8

Why a ship is called a SHE.

1)coz her bottom is always wet,

2)when she arrives port,she heads for the bouys.

3)when she berths,alot of men go on top of her,

4)she requires a lot of paint cosmetics to keep her good looking.

Hope this is helpful.