Crossword Genius

Ship commander's hat -- one with brown on the outside (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

captain

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'ship commander's' is the definition.
'captain' can be an answer for 'commander's' (I've seen this before). I'm unsure of the 'ship' bit.

'hat one with brown on the outside' is the wordplay.
'hat' becomes 'cap' (cap is a type of hat).
'one with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'brown on the outside' becomes 'tain' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'cap'+'tain'='CAPTAIN'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for captain that I've seen before include "American police officer" , "eg Hornblower" , "Lead (a team)" , "Naval commander" , "Army rank" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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