Drunkards with books aboard ship (4)
I believe the answer is:
sots
'drunkards' is the definition.
('sot' can be a synonym of 'drunkard')
'books aboard ship' is the wordplay.
'books' becomes 'OT' (abbreviation for Old Testament).
'aboard' indicates putting letters inside.
'ship' becomes 'SS' (prefix in ship names eg SS Great Britain).
'ot' put within 'ss' is 'SOTS'.
'with' is the link.
(Other definitions for sots that I've seen before include "Drunks" , "Sponges" , "Chronic drinkers" , "Habitual drunkards" , "Boozers" .)