Spar joining front half of ship to rear (5)
I believe the answer is:
shaft
'spar joining front' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'half of ship to rear' is the wordplay.
'half of' indicates taking half.
'to rear' becomes 'aft' (I've seen this before**).
'ship' halved is 'sh'.
'sh'+'aft'='SHAFT'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for shaft that I've seen before include "Ray (of light), access to mine" , "Vertical passage of mine" , "Mine access; handle" , "An arrow or a mine passage" , "Ray (of sunlight)" .)