To most members of the general public any ship painted grey is "A Battleship".
Except of course to bystanders at Black Park who invariably refer to them as "Army Boats".
With discerning knowledge they point to my 1905 HMS Skirmisher (with three ochre funnels) and confidently assert that it is the Titanic. Obviously the number and colour of the funnels is a give-away? (doh!).
My only boat that is reliably identified correctly in my Iggle Piggle boat from In The Night Garden.
Documentaries on children's television are a great source of knowledge.
Isaac Asimov once wrote that "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain".