Helpers make a boat on island. Model workers! (10)

I believe the answer is:

assistants

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'helpers' is the definition.
(I know this)

'make a boat on island model workers' is the wordplay.
'make a boat on' becomes 'ass' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'island' becomes 'is' (abbreviation).
'model' becomes 'T' (Ford Model T car).
'workers' becomes 'ants' (worker ants).
'ass'+'is'+'t'+'ants'='ASSISTANTS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for assistants that I've seen is " Helpers".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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