[f. FLEET sb.1 + -ER1.] One who is engaged in ‘fleeting’ (see FLEETING vbl. sb.3). Also, a boat intended for ‘fleeting.’
1888. Scot. Leader, 11 July, 7. The ‘fleeters’ do not always get free with smashes and cuts; one fleet alone loses 35 men on the average per year. Ibid. (1893), 15 Aug., 7. These vessels … differ from the ordinary trawlers in respect that while the latter return to port at least once a week, the fleeters remain at sea as long as their coals hold out.
