On the German forum many students complained about the battleship visualisation exercise and replaced it with something more palatable. I would advise against that for the following reasons:
The point of this exercise is to visualise something material and trace it back to its origin. In this case Charles Haanel chose a battleship, because at the time of writing it was the largest modern, man-made construction, but also one with extremely destructive powers. So one aspect of this exercise is to trace the making of the battleship back to its origins. When we do this, we realise that it is us who are at the beginning of everything material. It is our thoughts, feelings and actions that eventually lead to a monstrosity such as this battleship.
When we dematerialize the battleship, we are finding the ultimate cause. This principle can be applied in any other area too. Trace back any material object, and you will end up with "spirit". By recognizing the cause, we can in the future set new causes in motion, preferably those that do not lead to the construction of a battleship.
This exercise also needs to be seen in context with that of the next part, because there we plant a seed and visualize its growing into a beautiful, nice-smelling flower. So you see, the one is about taking something material and tracing it back to its origins, something bad that we do not want to repeat creating, while the other one is about planting a seed that grows into something beautiful, something that delights the world - something we certainly want more of.
In summary, the exercise of this part teaches us that whatever effect (battleship, war,...) we perceive with our senses, we have created it ourselves, through participation or omission. And if we don't like the effect of war, we need to change the cause, which is our thinking. It also teaches us to look below the surface, not to judge the appearance, but to understand that the effect has a long chain of causation, and that very soon in the tracing back of that chain you are left with things spiritual, with thoughts and feelings. And once we have mastered the exercise of finding the ultimate cause (which is always of a spiritual nature) by means of dematerialization, we then move to Chapter 9, where it's about a constructive visuliazation in order to create something with our thoughts that has a delightful and beneficial effect.
Also, if you read carefully, you will notice that he mentions the thousands of able seamen, ready to jump into action to move this complex machinery and make it fulfil its purpose. Well, this is also an analogy to your body! At your command, there are millions and millions of cells, each with their own consciousness and intelligence, ready to obey the word - your word! Keep that in mind! You are the master of your own body! It's your belief system that makes or breaks this wonderful piece of assembled consciousness.