Skilled in removing the top from the hawser (4)
I believe the answer is:
able
'skilled' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for able that I've seen before include "Efficient" , "Having considerable skill" , "... was I ere I saw Elba (palindrome)" , "Showing skill" , "See 10" .)