Why is a ship called she?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Why is a ship called she?

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:14:37 PM EDT

Saw this in a seafood restaurant yesterday....

WHY IS A SHIP CALLED SHE?

A ship is called a she because there is always a great deal of bustle around her;
there is usually a gang of men around;
she has a waist and stays;
it takes a lot of paint to keep her good looking;
it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep;
she can be all decked out;
it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly;
and without a man at the helm she is absolutely uncontrollable.
She shows her topsides and hides her bottom,
and when coming into port, always heads for the buoys.

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:15:47 PM EDT

[#1]

Because they both cost so much to keep in paint and powder....

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:16:03 PM EDT

[#2]

when she gets old she tends to retain water

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:16:55 PM EDT

[#3]

b/c most sailors are men

it would be gay to call the ship they are on a "he"

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:18:16 PM EDT

[#4]

aarrr matey, can ye smell it ?

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:18:20 PM EDT

[#5]

It is a vestige of a time when English (or one of its contributory languages) had "grammatical gender," as do latin, Fremch, and Spanish. That's all.

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:20:19 PM EDT

[#6]

My wife told me it's because it's a tradition that all boats are named after females.

HH

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:22:09 PM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
My wife told me it's because it's a tradition that all boats are named after females.

HH

Because they're both a bitch to maintain?

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:22:12 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
b/c most sailors are men

it would be gay to call the ship they are on a "he"

I think the Russians do....

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:25:55 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Quoted:
My wife told me it's because it's a tradition that all boats are named after females.

HH

Because they're both a bitch to maintain?

She didn't add that part.

Posted: 2/15/2006 7:44:25 PM EDT

[#10]

Because to enjoy it you can't just look at it, you got to ride it.

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:12:23 PM EDT

[#11]

Because they're full of seamen??

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:15:04 PM EDT

[#12]

It's a bitch when she goes down.

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:15:12 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Quoted:
b/c most sailors are men

it would be gay to call the ship they are on a "he"

I think the Russians do....

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:17:33 PM EDT

[#14]

because its the only "she" those guys are going to be in for a long time

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:17:44 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
b/c most sailors are men

it would be gay to call the ship they are on a "he"

I think the Russians do....

..Racing for a copy of Red October..

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:26:47 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
b/c most sailors are men

it would be gay to call the ship they are on a "he"

I think the Russians do....

I remember watching a History Channel segment on the German battleship Bismarck. Apparently the German sailors thought their ship was so superior to the next-best Allied ship that they defied naval tradition and refered to the ship as a "he."

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:32:26 PM EDT

[#17]

It's not just ships.

Anything with a cock-pit is a she.

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:32:47 PM EDT

[#18]

Yup. the Russians call ships "he"

Posted: 2/15/2006 9:35:03 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
It is a vestige of a time when English (or one of its contributory languages) had "grammatical gender," as do latin, Fremch, and Spanish. That's all.

Maybe… English is a Germanic language, not Latin. German has a neuter gender unlike Latin. Yes, English does have a lot of Latin based vocabulary, primarily as a result of the invasion of William the Bastard (the Conqueror). He was the bastard son of the King of France who lorded over Normandy.

Oddly enough the hostile relationship between France and England did not begin here but later. After a few generations - a lot of essential English men owned vast tracts of land in N. France because their fathers were Norman Lords - the French resented foreign ownership of their lands that had not even been taken in conquest, but really the opposite. What should have been territorial expansion resulted in loss of control.

Posted: 2/15/2006 11:07:30 PM EDT

[#20]

"She" when you are talking about a ship. "He" when you are talking about the Captain.

I dunno though, now that we can't call Irish Pennants Irish Pennants

, maybe we oughts start calling ships "It".

Posted: 2/15/2006 11:34:22 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
now that we can't call Irish Pennants Irish Pennants,

Who said you can't call IPs by their proper name?

Posted: 2/15/2006 11:42:44 PM EDT

[#22]

[feminist] Because men have a primal need for control [/feminist]

because its the only "she" those guys are going to be in for a long time

or that.

Posted: 2/16/2006 2:17:05 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
Quoted:
now that we can't call Irish Pennants Irish Pennants,

Who said you can't call IPs by their proper name?

So..... Can we call them "Russian Ropes"?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Why is a ship called she?

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