A craft designed to beat the freeze (7)
I believe the answer is:
iceboat
'a craft' is the definition.
(I know that iceboat is a type of craft)
'designed to beat the freeze' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
'freeze' could be 'ice' (as in water freezing to become ice) and 'ice' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'boa' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for iceboat that I've seen before include "it cuts through arctic seas" , "Ship used to clear way in polar waters" , "One'll break through the pack" , "Arctic vessel" , "Craft" .)