/Naval terminology pedantry mode off
Sounds like Fish-head pedantry to me, rather then universal naval pedantry.
"Call it a boat. It annoys the Fish-heads", was the advice I was given. And if the term "boat" was good enough for aviating naval colleagues from both sides of the Atlantic, one of whom got a medal for not crashing a Sea Fury very much, then it seems at least to be worthy of consideration.