[jeroz]

think it's sufficient to say that Gargantia is the main focus in this episode. We see the mundane hobby of the people, the mundane conversation between them, and the mundane activities they do. None of the characters are the focus, not Ledo, not Amy and certain not her two friends. Instead what we should pay attention on is how Gargantia the fleet is presented and how the citizens spend their life on it.
Generally I don't like Slice of Life episodes, but I am interested to see how this episode will further impact on Ledo in the way he sees the people. At the end of episode 4 we saw Ledo opening up his heart to the people, this episode we see how integrated he is to the society even though he's still yet to find a job :P
Yes this episode could've been used as an OVA, BR special. However, the impact of what happened in this episode won't be known until the next episode. I would be interested to see if it's possible to omit this episode if Ledo changed a lot in episode 6.