Move the boat near a northern tree (5)
I believe the answer is:
rowan
'tree' is the definition.
(type of tree)
'move the boat near a northern' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'boat' could be 'row' (rowing is a kind of boating) and 'row' is located in the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
No letters remain.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for rowan that I've seen before include "Sort of ash" , "Red-berried tree" , "Mountain-ash" , "The mountain ash tree" , "Tree bearing bright red berries" .)