I was thinking of potential Salvaging gameplay, where you can install a controllable crane arm onto the boat that you can use to haul things from the water onto your boat deck.
Various different heads that are used to different things, an electro-magnet heat to haul metal objects like sharks on board. and a claw head for non-metal things.
side idea, related: install a deck hatch that can be opened that leads to that "workshop" space that's at the frontward section of the under deck, where you can drop the objects you're pulling out of the water into the belly of your boat.