Traditional Ship Tattoo

In American traditional tattooing the ship is traditionally associated with adventure, a long journey and the resilience to ride out rough water. According to sailor lore, a full-rigged ship marked a sailor who had rounded Cape Horn, so it carries a sense of a hard-won milestone.

Pairings change the story: a ship in a storm reads as endurance through a difficult stretch, swallows above it as miles travelled and a safe return home, a compass as direction, and a kraken as facing an enormous obstacle. A pirate ship is a more playful, rebellious take on the same idea. As with most traditional tattoos, the meaning varies from wearer to wearer.

• Clipper ship — a full-rigged sailing ship on bold green waves, the most common version.
• Ship in a storm — dark clouds and lightning over rough water.
• Ship in a frame — the ship inside an oval rope frame, a classic wall-flash composition.
• Ship with swallows — two swallows flying above the sails.
• Ship and compass — the ship above a compass rose, for direction and homecoming.
• Ship and kraken — tentacles wrapping the hull and masts.
• Pirate ship — dark sails and a skull-and-crossbones flag.
• Black and grey ship — the same bold outlines with grey shading instead of color.

Ships are wide and detailed, so they usually go where there is room: the thigh, upper arm, shoulder, calf, chest or back. A narrower ship can run along the forearm or shin. Keep the sails bold and the rigging simple — fine rigging lines can blur together as the tattoo ages, especially on small ships below about 8 cm (3 in).

When you bring a flash design to your artist, they will adjust the size and composition to fit your body and redraw the stencil. That is normal and part of the craft.