Drunkard pinching sailor's footwear (5)
I believe the answer is:
sabot
'footwear' is the definition.
(sabot is a kind of footwear)
'drunkard pinching sailor's' is the wordplay.
'drunkard' becomes 'sot' (synonyms).
'pinching' is an insertion indicator (taking inside).
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'sot' placed around 'ab' is 'SABOT'.
(Other definitions for sabot that I've seen before include "Carved shoe -- boats (anag)" , "Wooden-soled 13 down" , "This from last" , "French clog" , "Wooden clog" .)