Crossword Genius

Amid ship’s shell and head, a sailor hoisted knits (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hullabaloo

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sailor hoisted knits' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'amid ship's shell and head a' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'shell' could be 'hull' (I've seen this before) and 'hull' is located in the answer.
'a' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'baloo' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for hullabaloo that I've seen before include "Row" , "Uproar" , "racket" , "Outcry" , "Agitation or excitement" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.