"She" can be used to refer to some types of inanimate objects. In sailing, the boat is often referred to as 'she', but according to this answer.... http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/42398/what-does-up-she-rises-mean-in-the-sea-shanty-drunken-sailor ...the song is a 'capstan shanty', sung when raising the anchor, so "she" is the anchor.

Wow, great sea chanty, cool question! I don't know, but I would guess "she" most likely refers to the vessel or to a part of the vessel or to the sea. I think I heard a version once where the ship's cook was female, but I'm really inclined to think the reference is to the sea or the ship. Let me know what you find out, Olga.

I assumed it was the ship (ships and boats are referred to as 'she') as she was being hauled up after a long voyage to have her barnacles removed.

A ship. One of the relatively few examples of gender in English. The seafaring world uses its own nautical language, by the way. A floor is a "deck." Left and right are "port and starboard." Front and rear are "fore and aft."

Olga: One funny way to think if "she" is this. The drunken sailor is so desperate for the company of a woman, that he even refers to the ship as a "she".