Part of sailing ship contains something woolly and life jacket (3,4)
I believe the answer is:
mae west
'life jacket' is the definition.
(Mae West is an example)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mae west that I've seen before include "I acted" , "Source of innuendos" , "life-saver" , "Film star; WW2 jacket" , "buoyant supporter" .)