In most of the Western world, ships / boats, even those christened with male names are refered to as "she". Why?

I personally always thought.... And it's okay to laugh...... Because I am serious here..... (lol) most sailors/ship captains are male so I thought they name their ships a female name so they don't miss their wives so much. Kind of like when my husband was cross country truck driving we referred to his truck as "the other woman" or his "mistress" cuz she took him away from home too much! Lol!

CS Lewis, in the 2nd book of his "Space Trilogy," Perelandra, made the comment that "male and female are biological life's participation in that greater polarity in the universe of masculine and feminine.  It was not by accident that sailors called their ships 'she.'"

Now I realize that doesn't provide an answer, but it paves the way for a fascination intellectual journey as one ponders Lewis's comment.

(And Yin and Yang's comment, "so they don't miss their wives so much" may well be very accurate.)