Headstone Ideas for a Sailor or Boater

For someone who loved the water, a nautical memorial feels like coming home.

Symbol ideas

• Anchor — see anchor meaning
• Ship's wheel
• Sailboat
• Compass rose
• Lighthouse

Etched scene ideas

• Their own boat, etched from a photo
• A lighthouse at sunset
• The harbour or lake they sailed

See custom etched scenes.

Personal touches

• The boat's name
• Navy or merchant marine service — see military inscriptions
• Coordinates of a favourite anchorage

Epitaph ideas

• Home is the sailor, home from sea (R. L. Stevenson)
• Fair winds and following seas
• Safe harbour
• Gone sailing
• Anchored in our hearts

Design tips

• Bahamas Blue granite suggests the sea.
• A wave shape (left or right wave) suits a nautical memorial.
• See classic poems for the full Stevenson lines.

Key Takeaways

• Anchors, wheels and boats are classic emblems.
• "Fair winds and following seas" is a traditional farewell.
• Blue granite and wave shapes complete the theme.

Next Step

Try it in the Design Studio — search the symbol library for the emblems above.