I don't think the fact they're spirits means they're genderless.
For starters, gender is generally used by anthropologists to refer to 'sexual identity' (rather than biological sex). In this sense, gender refers to the way in which the world sees the individual, as well as the way individuals view themselves. The fact that Ursula and Seth are spirits doesn't change the fact that they're referred to in the feminine, nor the fact that they appear to others in a feminine form; hence, their gender is female.
Also moving back to the whole inanimate objects thing, I think rather than a boat, we might want to consider something more similar to the case at hand (i.e. animate, but not biological). To this end, I'd have to ask about Pinocchio. The way I see it, he (or possibly it) was definately male, right? But unless Gepetto had some serious issues, I don't think the little doll had everything a Real Boy has...ahem.
Anyways, I'm still open to debate, but for the time being, those are my thoughts on the matter. ^_^
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