Solution to Smiling Vessel

To solve this puzzle, you must inhabit the mind of someone playing Battleship. Each space on the grid falls into one of two categories:

1. A word indicating that you did not hit anything (MISS, VACANT, SPLASH, BUNGLE, EMPTY, or WATER)
2. A word that is just one letter off from the name of a type of boat or ship.

Inane Dorothy's aunt Penny: “Thank You” (5) EMPTY	Icequake noise from boy by reflecting pool (5) BLOOP	Failed general left out of group (6) CUSTER	Sam's lead pinto is spotted (5) SPIED	Formal purse (4) PRIM	Reprobate spits out whiskey, vomit (5) RETCH
Error in meioses, oddly (4) MISS	Desolate, some tempt you (5) EMPTY	Backwards record stuffed in girdle creates commotion (6) SPLASH	Brazilian capital built over western edge of jungle ruin (6) BUNGLE	I heard initially Samuel Clemens was blank (5) EMPTY	Was unfinished, half-bitter drink (5) WATER
Emotionless Spanish cow is next to headless ant (6) VACANT	Slight wordplay, yes (4) PUNY	Empty-headed Virginia sanctimony (6) VACANT	MIT ESP event initially seemed pretty likely a sure hit (6) SPLASH	Hot ice gardening action (5) WATER	Pine for note with two shillings (4) MISS
Fluff an excited bulge around November (6) BUNGLE	Beer belly doubles for slowpoke (6) LAGGER	Perform Cartesian coordinates, slattern (4) DOXY	Physician later becomes professional CAD worker (7) DRAFTER	The Blessed Virgin reportedly is joyous (5) MERRY	Bitterness vocalized is more foul (6) RANKER
Wet mountains turn quiet (6) SPLASH	Jack of all trades is hot and Spanish and male (8) HANDYMAN	Don't take advantage of girl (4) MISS	Slip, roll broken leg (6) BUNGLE	Adam's Ale found in Ottawa territory (5) WATER	Free container in container (6) VACANT
Confused warbler fighter (7) BRAWLER	Gonorrhea, according to appreciative audience member (7) CLAPPER	Duty is essential to Navajo beliefs (3) JOB	Dog food (4) CHOW	Round rooster makes its heart new (5) CANON	Herding dogs saddle untruths (7) COLLIES

Transform each "hit" word into a ship and extract the new letter:

	Bloop to SLOOP S	Custer to CUTTER T	Spied to SPEED E	Prim to PRAM A	Retch to KETCH K
	Puny to PUNT T
	Lagger to LUGGER U	Doxy to DORY R	Drafter to DRIFTER I	Merry to FERRY F	Ranker to TANKER T
	Handyman to HANDYMAX X
Brawler to TRAWLER T	Clapper to CLIPPER I	Job to JON N	Chow to DHOW D	Canon to CANOE E	Collies to COLLIER R

These extracted letters spell words that are laid out like ships on a Battleship board. Again, the words are one letter off of the name of a ship or boat. Order the "boats" by letter length to extract the answer:

tux to TUG = G
rift to RAFT = A
steak to STEAM = M
tinder to TENDER = E

The answer is GAME.