The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word SHIPMATE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
S
H
I
P
M
A
T
E
More clues leading to the result SHIPMATE
- Sailor Small accompanies really cool friend
- Sailor using his head in final act on board
- Boatman‘s helm is prime mover about tacking east at first
- Fellow sailor Johnson wants his tea stirred round
- As the PM, I replaced fellow on board
- Fellow on board has time possibly to seize power
- Fellow sailor finds the map is wrong
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Boatman" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case boatman = shipmate.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does SHIPMATE mean?
SHIPMATE noun- A fellow sailor serving on the same ship as another.
- Any sailor (when used as a form of address by a sailor).