Club housing old vessel (4)
I believe the answer is:
boat
'vessel' is the definition.
(boat is a kind of vessel)
'club housing old' is the wordplay.
'club' becomes 'bat' (bat is a kind of club**).
'housing' indicates putting letters inside.
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'bat' enclosing 'o' is 'BOAT'.
(Other definitions for boat that I've seen before include "Vessel for water travel" , "Water craft" , "Vehicle for travelling over water" , "See 12 Down" , "Contest on the Thames" .)