Ship tattoo ideas

240 photos and flash · 50% Traditional, 17% Realism · Forearm most common

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Traditional tattoo of a grey-shaded sailing ship with red sunburst, waves and a Sail On banner, on the upper back.
Sailing ship with Sail On banner on upper back
Black and grey lettering tattoo on the upper back, with flourished script inside a teardrop of scrollwork around a silhouetted head and sailing ship.
Script and silhouette on upper back
Black and grey tattoo of a sailing ship with a flock of birds flying from its sails, waves beneath and the words SAIL ON on the forearm.
Sailing ship and birds on a forearm
Black and grey back tattoo of a shaded map of the British Isles with a dashed route, compass rose, ships, a sea serpent, two heraldic beasts and a banner, placed across the upper and lower back.
British Isles treasure map across a back
Watercolour and ink tattoo design on paper showing Big Ben, a flying Peter Pan silhouette, a moon with a ship and a dark ink circle around the scene.
Big Ben and Peter Pan watercolour design
Green-toned flash design of a large eye whose iris becomes a scaled wave, with a hummingbird, a sailing ship and pale pink blossom on a beige background.
Eye with waves, hummingbird and blossom flash
Black and grey dotwork tattoo of a sailing ship on rolling waves with a dotted anchor hanging below, on the inner forearm.
Sailing ship and anchor on a forearm
Black fine line tattoo of a sailing ship on rolling waves with a dotted line descending to a small anchor, placed on the inner forearm.
Sailing ship and anchor on a forearm
Black and grey realism tattoo of a three-masted sailing ship with full sails and rigging, placed on the side of the ribs.
Tall ship with billowing sails on the ribs
Black and grey traditional style tattoos on three fingers of a hand: an anchor, a sailing ship and a ship's wheel, with the ship placed on the middle finger.
Anchor, sailing ship and ship's wheel on fingers
Black and grey realism portrait of a woman with a city scene and "Ride or Die" script, tattooed across a full back.
Realist woman portrait and script across a full back
Small black and grey tattoo of a three-masted sailing ship above waves, with stippled shading, on the back of a hand.
Sailing ship on the back of a hand
Black and grey realism tattoo of two sailing ships fighting on rough seas, placed on the side of the ribs.
Two galleons in battle at sea
Nautical flash sheet of line-art designs in navy and red, including a lighthouse, swallow, whale, anchor, jellyfish and squid on a cream background.
Nautical tattoo flash sheet
Black and grey tattoo of a bear with flowers, leaves and a small ship on the outer thigh, with a hand holding fabric above it.
Bear and flowers on a thigh
Black and grey vintage-style flash sheet showing a key, crown, stag, anchor, butterfly, teacup, sailing ship, fox, camera, swallow and arrows, with no tattoo on skin.
Vintage flash sheet of keys, crown, ship and fox
Black line drawing of a mermaid with scaled tail beside a sailing ship and a large sea creature, a tattoo design sketch with no body part shown.
Mermaid and ship sea monster design
Black and grey traditional tattoo of a sailing ship on rough waves, with a rose beneath it, on an upper arm.
Sailing ship and waves on an upper arm
Black and grey traditional flash design of an hourglass reading TEMPUS FUGIT, with a sailing ship in the top bulb and a skull in the bottom bulb.
Hourglass with skull and ship
Black and grey realism tattoo of a sailing galleon in heavy seas with crashing waves, wrapping around a forearm.
Galleon and waves on a forearm
Colour tattoo on a forearm of a sailor's head in a cap inscribed Cherie, with a whale and a sunset sea scene inside the head, in neo-trad style.
Sailor head with whale on a forearm
Traditional-style flash design on paper showing a sailing ship on rough seas and a black and grey rose in a bold black oval frame, with no body part visible.
Sailing ship and rose flash in oval frame
Black ink finger tattoos on a clenched hand showing a flower, a sailing ship, a ship's wheel, a palm tree and crossed arrows in a simple traditional style.
Nautical finger tattoos on a fist
Back view of both legs with a black and grey woodcut-style tattoo of a sailing ship on the sea beneath clouds and sunrays, running from the thighs to the calves, in a Blackwork style.
Woodcut-style ship scene on both legs
Traditional style colour tattoo of a sailing ship on green waves inside a waffle cone, with pink and orange flowers and green leaves below, on a lower back.
Sailing ship in an ice cream cone with flowers
Blue pen sketch of a sailing ship inside a bottle, with a kraken's tentacles reaching up from the waves beside it.
Ship in a bottle with kraken sketch
Black and grey realism tattoo of a lighthouse beside crashing waves and a stormy sky, across the upper arm.
Lighthouse and stormy sea on upper arm
Traditional style tattoo of a black-sailed ship with a red sun and teal waves on the back of a hand.
Sailing ship and waves on the back of a hand
Black and grey traditional flash of a skull above a trident and anchor rope, framing a ship, a whale and a banner reading Sea Shepherd.
Skull, trident and whale in a rope frame
Blue line drawing of a torso covered in traditional flash designs including a rose, skull, diamond, heart, anchor, snake, candle and ship.
Torso covered in traditional flash motifs
Black and grey engraved tattoo of a sailing ship in a bottle with waves and a sun, on the calf.
Ship in a bottle on the calf
Blue ink drawing of a traditional sailing ship in heavy waves, with a curling banner on the left reading LOVE IS LIKE A TIDE BRINGING YOU HOME, intended as a tattoo design.
Sailing ship and banner design
Black and grey realism tattoo of a lighthouse in a stormy sea on the chest, with a sailing ship on the upper arm and shoulder.
Lighthouse in a storm on chest and ship on arm
Black and grey engraved-style tattoo of a sailing ship under stars, with waves, clouds and the date 1872 beneath, on the upper arm.
Sailing ship and 1872 on upper arm
Five views of a colourful traditional style full sleeve tattoo on an arm, showing a mermaid, a shark, sailing ships, a castle and fish in a sea scene.
Under-the-sea full sleeve tattoo
Black ink sailing ship tattoo on the upper back of a woman with her hair pinned up, in a traditional style.
Sailing ship tattoo on upper back
Black and grey tattoo of a three-masted sailing ship on the upper arm, with a small cross on the hand, in a shaded realistic style.
Sailing ship on upper arm
Black and grey neo-traditional design drawn on tracing paper of a mermaid with a ship, anchor, rope and ship's wheel, with no body placement shown.
Mermaid with ship and ship's wheel design
Black ink tattoo of sailing ships, clouds and a rising sun with engraved-style sea lines, covering the thighs and calves of both legs.
Sailing ships and sunrise across both legs
Black and grey realism sleeve tattoo on an upper arm showing a pocket watch, a sailing ship in rough sea with a tentacle, and a dotwork mandala.
Pocket watch, ship and mandala sleeve
Traditional forearm tattoo of a red and white lighthouse, a black-sailed ship, banners and flowers on a red sunburst, shown in four angled views.
Lighthouse and ship on a forearm
Black and grey realism back tattoo showing a hooded grim reaper, a winged woman, hourglasses and a skeletal hand, with clouds and a ship on the upper arm.
Grim reaper and winged woman across a back
Black and grey realism tattoo of a galleon under full sail above breaking waves, across a man's upper arm and shoulder.
Galleon and stormy waves on upper arm
Colour tattoo sleeve on a man's forearm and upper arm, showing clouds and what looks like ship rigging in a traditional style.
Colour sleeve with ship and clouds on forearm
Traditional style tattoo on a calf of a sailing ship in a storm above waves, with a compass rose and anchor chains below, in red, orange, yellow and grey.
Sailing ship and compass on a calf
Traditional outline tattoos of a sailing ship in an oval frame with roses and a ship's wheel, one on each thigh.
Twin sailing ship tattoos on thighs
Black and grey fine line tattoo of a three-masted sailing ship with rigging on the forearm.
Three-masted ship on a forearm
Black and grey flash sheet of more than fifty small icon designs, including a dagger, anchor, eye, skull, heart and paper plane, with no body placement shown.
Grid of small tattoo flash designs