Maybe because the French words for ship (bateau, navire, vaisseau) are all masculine?
Not all boat names in french are masculine. Some famous ones that are feminine: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Dauphine_(vaisseau) https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Hermine_(Nef) https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cordeli%C3%A8re