Crossword Genius

Bundles that man and a female on board ship (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sheafs

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'bundles' is the definition.
(alternative spelling of 'sheaves')

'man and a female on board ship' is the wordplay.
'man' becomes 'hea' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a female' becomes 'f' (common abbreviation).
'on board' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are taken on board).
'ship' becomes 'SS' (prefix in ship names eg SS Great Britain).
'hea'+'f'='heaf'
'heaf' placed into 'ss' is 'SHEAFS'.

'that' acts as a link.

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I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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