# A bad way to start.



## mbianka

A 21 year old fellow from Arizona buys a $700 boat on Ebay. What could possibly go wrong? Tough way to start on the dream.

_"A 21-year-old man behind the wheel of a sailboat named "Vanna White" ran the boat aground in Montauk on Thursday - just one day after he bought it on eBay for $700.

Now the sailor, Matthew Hunt, who hails from land-locked Arizona, is homeless - because he planned to live on the vessel."_

https://nypost.com/2019/09/26/arizona-man-runs-new-boat-aground-in-montauk/


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## Minnewaska

3.....2.....1....... gofundme page coming up. 

Sorry for his loss, but living on your last dime on a $700 boat isn’t the best idea. Hard to assess the sailing situation, from the media report.


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## rbrasi

Not a bad looking boat for that price.... Wonder if it had an anchor?


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## jephotog

$700 for the boat wonder how much salvage will run?


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## jephotog

$700 for a boat, wonder how much the neck tattoo cost him?


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## Minnesail

The article says 26-foot Catalina. Maybe it's a Catalina 27? It looks like it was in pretty good shape.

He's 21, he'll bounce back.


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## jephotog

Minnesail said:


> The article says 26-foot Catalina. Maybe it's a Catalina 27?.


There is a Capri 26 made by Catalina. Unlike other Capris which is Catalina's "racing" line, it is more cruiser oriented.


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## tempest

Here's a better write -up and a video of it getting pulled off the beach!

UPDATE: The Vanna White Is Pulled Off Montauk Beach But Sinks In Harbor; Young Owner Left Homeless - Montauk - 27east

@ 21 he'll live to fight another day!


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## SHNOOL

Its an early 80s Catalina 27, they are a dime a dozen. Early 70s were atomics (for inboards) newer ones were universals.

it was a bad plan to start with. Some experience would have been helpful, not a great place to start your "dream" if you are unfamiliar with the area/sailboats.

The Capri 26 is completely different.
The Catalina 25 has smaller oval forward ports (rare to find an inboard in them as well).

From the pictures that was a nicely sorted 27. Those are REALLY tough boats for production boats.


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## mbianka

Yeah that looked like a sweet little boat for $700 at least from the photos. Unfortunately his plans were doomed once he thought anchoring in the Atlantic Ocean might be a good idea so he could use the showers at Hither Hills State Park.

_"His plan was to find a place to anchor the boat and start looking for a job in the area. Someone, he said, mentioned to him that Hither Hills State Park has showers and bathrooms he could use.

With no knowledge of the area or the temperament of the Atlantic, he set off Thursday morning, intending to moor the boat in the ocean off the parkland and use a raft to traverse back and forth to shore."_

The good news is that he got a job in a Sag Harbor restaurant so maybe he can get back on his feet again.

The Vanna White Goes Down, Leaving A Young Sailboat Owner Disappointed, And Homeless - Montauk - 27east


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## tempest

A young guy with a tough home life (?) got a sampling of the kindness of strangers. A place to stay and a job. Hopefully, someone will mentor him. He could sign on a fishing boat, learn to cook, and become a town celebrity and chef to the rich and famous in the Hamptons with a story to tell of how it all got started. 

It was a dumb, maybe desperate move to think you could anchor in the ocean. Hopefully, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger and maybe a little wiser. It's too bad they didn't get a pump on that boat sooner, to keep it afloat, and find the ingress point.


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## mbianka

tempest said:


> A young guy with a tough home life (?) got a sampling of the kindness of strangers. A place to stay and a job. Hopefully, someone will mentor him. He could sign on a fishing boat, learn to cook, and become a town celebrity and chef to the rich and famous in the Hamptons with a story to tell of how it all got started.
> 
> It was a dumb, maybe desperate move to think you could anchor in the ocean. Hopefully, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger and maybe a little wiser. It's too bad they didn't get a pump on that boat sooner, to keep it afloat, and find the ingress point.


Spot on. Shame about the boat. Though he doesn't sound like some of the young kids today who just start a Go Fund me page to have others pay for their mistakes. He did not waste anytime looking for a job. So I think he is on the right path to a better life. Especially if he stays out of the bars.


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## chef2sail

Minnewaska said:


> 3.....2.....1....... gofundme page coming up.
> 
> Sorry for his loss, but living on your last dime on a $700 boat isn't the best idea. Hard to assess the sailing situation, from the media report.


My thoughts exactly...on the go fund me page


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## Ninefingers

I wish him all the best really. I ran aground the first time solo on a 33 Hunter. More enthusiasm than brains. That was 10 years ago. That lesson advanced my learning of seamanship faster than anything else.

Reading the updated story, I see he tried to sail away form the lee shore after his engine died but couldn't manage it. Neither could any of us with so little experience. But he gave it a go instead of curling up in the corner.

If he gets another boat, my bet is that he become a good sailor. I'm basing that off nothing but intuition. Judging by his story, he's not a whiner and moves towards solutions instead of wallowing in problems and misery. Takes balls to leave a crappy family and start anew. I hope he continues to sail.


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## jephotog

I will wait for a follow up news story to give him a good grade for effort.

His story about a messed up family life: Does that mean his parents disapproved of his neck adornment or the fact that he spent his last dime to fly from Arizona one way to New England as winter approaches to live on a sailboat without knowing how to sail?


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## Morild

Good on him to be out there and do something other than sit in the couch and spew out snarky comments on an internet forum.


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## chef2sail

tempest said:


> A young guy with a tough home life (?) got a sampling of the kindness of strangers. A place to stay and a job. Hopefully, someone will mentor him. He could sign on a fishing boat, learn to cook, and become a town celebrity and chef to the rich and famous in the Hamptons with a story to tell of how it all got started.
> 
> It was a dumb, maybe desperate move to think you could anchor in the ocean. Hopefully, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger and maybe a little wiser. It's too bad they didn't get a pump on that boat sooner, to keep it afloat, and find the ingress point.


So true


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## roverhi

Guess that's what happens when you put a wheel on a 26' boat instead of an anchor.


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## overbored

you would think if he was anchored and then could not make it off the lee shore he would just anchor again and wait for better conditions but thats what experience is good for. also knowing how to sail helps.


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## Minnewaska

The fact that I’ve not heard of a gofundme campaign yet, speaks in favor of this kids character. I doubt the job he was given in a restaurant was charity. Restaurants nationwide are starving for workers in this high employment economy. Good to hear that getting a job was part of his solution. 

I hope he gets back on his feet and smartens up for the next shot. Intending to anchor in the open ocean doesn’t speak well for the common sense of a 21 yr old. Has to be some kind of deficit there. I’ll acknowledge, one may be sympathetic to this kid, if they knew him personally and what his capability really is. Impossible to say from afar.

The salvage costs are an interesting question. Clearly, he would be liable for the tow. The fact that the boat sunk while under tow may be the tow company’s liability. One even wonders if the kid will have a claim against them, if they were negligent in some way. Running a crash pump would be SOP, if she was taking on water. Maybe they missed something. Maybe something didn’t start leaking until after they were underway.


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## chef2sail

Restaurants nationwide are starving for workers in this high employment economy. This statement is incorrect.

Restaurants willing to pay appropriate wages , or in server positions restaurants with a good business never have difficulty finding good employees.


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## Minnesail

Shame about the boat.

That looked like a really rough tow off the beach. I thought you could see the rudder bounce, then dig in and drag. That can't have been good.


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## PhilCarlson

jephotog said:


> ... wonder how much the neck tattoo cost him?


Neck tattoo is kinda like a boat: The entry cost pales in comparison to the long term expenses. In this case, all the jobs he's not gonna get because of his cool neck ink.


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## mbianka

PhilCarlson said:


> Neck tattoo is kinda like a boat: The entry cost pales in comparison to the long term expenses. In this case, all the jobs he's not gonna get because of his cool neck ink.


At least he does not have a nose ring. They creep me out especially on a woman.  Tatoo's are hopefully just a fad too. IMO they look like dirt on peoples bodies from a distance. Personally I took a lesson from The Who regarding them .


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## SloopJonB

Sounds like no knowledge of sailing was the fundamental problem.

Getting blown ashore but the sail cover was still on?


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## Minnesail

PhilCarlson said:


> Neck tattoo is kinda like a boat: The entry cost pales in comparison to the long term expenses. In this case, all the jobs he's not gonna get because of his cool neck ink.





mbianka said:


> At least he does not have a nose ring. They creep me out especially on a woman.  Tatoo's are hopefully just a fad too. IMO they look like dirt on peoples bodies from a distance. Personally I took a lesson from The Who regarding them .


Ahhhh, you're just old fogies! 

I don't have any tattoos, I think they're kinda dumb, but they are the norm now. Last time I dealt with a banker she had tattoos. I know a surgeon who's totally tatted up. Last year my county changed the regulations, now deputies are allowed to have visible tattoos. I know a couple suburban soccer moms who have all their kids' names tattooed.


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## SloopJonB

Minnesail said:


> Ahhhh, you're just old fogies!
> 
> I don't have any tattoos, I think they're kinda dumb, but they are the norm now.


They are more widely accepted than in the past but they ain't "the norm now".

They're just as trashy as they ever were it's just that society has become trashier.


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## mbianka

Minnesail said:


> Ahhhh, you're just old fogies!
> 
> I don't have any tattoos, I think they're kinda dumb, but they are the norm now. Last time I dealt with a banker she had tattoos. I know a surgeon who's totally tatted up. Last year my county changed the regulations, now deputies are allowed to have visible tattoos. I know a couple suburban soccer moms who have all their kids' names tattooed.


Old fogie? Maybe but, it still looks like they need to wash the grime off parts of their bodies. I'll make exceptions for a gal who has the "If you can read this. Let's Party!" tattoo on her butt.


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## Minnewaska

Like so many behaviors, the appearance of an increase in tattoos is exaggerated to think it's the norm. Today, only about a third of kids get tattoos, which keeps them firmly in the minority. That's roughly doubled in their generation, from previous generations, but it's still the exception. Marijuana is the same. There is an increased use, but it's still the distinct minority.

Hair and piercings have been used for self expression, but more easily changed, when your desire to express changes. Removing a tattoo is doable, but it requires breaking up the heavy metals one volunteered to put under their skin, into small enough particles that the body will digest and excrete them. The reason tatoos fade is the smallest of the original injected particules were already digested. The largest can't be. Worse yet, the ingredients in tatoo ink are not regulated, nor disclosed. Some are tested to contain lead, for example.


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## mbianka

Still remember and respect the WWII vet I knew when I was a kid who had a simple faded anchor tattoo on his arm. Kids with tattoo snakes crawling up their arms not so much.


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## Minnesail

A friend of mine says tattoos are like marriages. You *can* get them undone, but it's expensive and painful, and sometimes leaves scars.


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## SloopJonB

Minnewaska said:


> Removing a tattoo is doable, but it requires breaking up the heavy metals one volunteered to put under their skin, into small enough particles that the body will digest and excrete them. The reason tatoos fade is the smallest of the original injected particules were already digested. The largest can't be. Worse yet, the ingredients in tatoo ink are not regulated, nor disclosed. Some are tested to contain lead, for example.


Sounds like you're saying that Darwin has significant participation in it. :wink


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## hpeer

Speaking of rough starts anyone else see the 51’ schooner ashore near Jacksonville. What I heard was it was new owners. Can’t find a decent link to the story online.


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## hpeer

Here is a link to above referenced story.

https://www.news4jax.com/news/flori...tic-beach/boat-runs-aground-in-atlantic-beach


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## PhilCarlson

Minnesail said:


> Ahhhh, you're just old fogies!
> 
> I don't have any tattoos, I think they're kinda dumb, but they are the norm now. Last time I dealt with a banker she had tattoos. I know a surgeon who's totally tatted up. Last year my county changed the regulations, now deputies are allowed to have visible tattoos. I know a couple suburban soccer moms who have all their kids' names tattooed.


I'm not opposed to tatoos in principle. I appreciate tastefully done ink and personal expression. However, as I have related to my kids time and again, choices have consequences and ink is forever.

My oldest son got a forearm tattoo that he really liked, shortly after that he lost a job opportunity because of the employer's dress and appearace policy.

My younger son learned from that and opted for ink where it would usually be covered by a t-shirt.

My nephew was *****ing about how broke he was and how much over the counter pediatric meds cost and everything you need in an infant's 'go bag' for travel. I asked him how much he paid for the 10' lightsaber tattoo he just got on his forearm (he needed it to match the one on his other forearm). Blank stare.... Can you imagine taking professional advice from a guy with lightsabers tattood on his forearms? So many doors are closed to him.

Finally in the immortal words of David Letterman "If your going to get a tattoo, just make sure it won't make your hemmorroid surgeon giggle."


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## contrarian

Should be a sailing seamanship test required for anyone getting a tattoo.

First question.... You have a sailboat, what is your primary means of propulsion ? ere's a hint mate... your engine is referred to as an auxiliary.

Second question.... What is your anchor used for ???

If the response is "What's an Anchor ?" 

NO Tattoo For You


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## Minnesail

OK, I've decided to get a full face tattoo of an anchor.

Do I go with a Danforth, a Manson, a spade, CQR, what do I choose?


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## SloopJonB

PhilCarlson said:


> I appreciate tastefully done ink "


There is no such thing - it's a contradiction in terms.


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## Arcb

Minnesail said:


> OK, I've decided to get a full face tattoo of an anchor.
> 
> Do I go with a Danforth, a Manson, a spade, CQR, what do I choose?


The fact that you even have to ask is proof that your face is going to drag.

No anchoring in 60 ft deep F7 coral heads for you.

The answer is Bruce by the way.


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## mbianka

hpeer said:


> Here is a link to above referenced story.
> 
> https://www.news4jax.com/news/flori...tic-beach/boat-runs-aground-in-atlantic-beach


Ouch. Guess that bow thruster is not going to help get that bow pointed into the waves. Watching the waves toss it around like a toy is sobering.


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## Minnesail

Then I'll have chain tattooed down my neck to my chest, where I'll switch to 3-strand nylon. Or should I my tattoo be all chain? The tattoo artist said he couldn't draw a snubber.


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## Arcb

Real cruisers use gold chain. More than twice the density of steel. Has better catenary.


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## Minnewaska

Rope rode tattoos will chafe, they should be all chain.


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## hpeer

Minnewaska said:


> Rope rode tattoos will chafe, they should be all chain.


Only in certain locations!

Is that why bikers wear leathers, chafe guard?


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## Minnesail

Minnewaska said:


> Rope rode tattoos will chafe, they should be all chain.





hpeer said:


> Only in certain locations!


I guess it depends if you have a rocky or a muddy bottom.


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## RegisteredUser

3 strand eye splice with splice starting just below the chin.
Young chicks and business folks will trust you.
Great 1st impression if in sales.


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## contrarian

You really need a strong nose piercing as an attachment point for the chain....


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## peikenberry

> Intending to anchor in the open ocean doesn't speak well for the common sense of a 21 yr old. Has to be some kind of deficit there.


 Give the kid a break. He's from Arizona. Where is he going to get ocean sailing experience in Arizona. He most likely had never even seen the ocean before. Yes what he did was dumb, but that doesn't mean he's dumb. Just lack of experience. He'll be back.

As for all the comments about tattoos; sounds like you haven't spent much time around military people lately. Tattoos are definitely in. All the services now allow visible tattoos. When I was serving you could get a tattoo but it better not be visible while in uniform and if it got infected and you needed medical treatment you were in deep s.... Not any more. I was never a tattoo type, but I knew a lot of people who were. Go to a military gym and you will see a sea of tattoos on both men and women. I don't care much for it but it's their bodies. Think what that will look like when they are in their 80's, ugh.


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## Arcb

Thats for sure. I have a couple of tatoos I got when I was in the CG.... including an anchor tatoo. Fouled anchor actually, imposed on a ships wheel. Admiralty pattern with a rope rode.


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## peikenberry

> Thats for sure. I have a couple of tatoos I got when I was in the CG.... including an anchor tatoo. Fouled anchor actually, imposed on a ships wheel. Admiralty pattern with a rope rode.


Yeah I think I've seen some of those back when. When I graduated from CG boot camp a lot of the guys in my company went and got a tattoo. I can assure you that was not the first thing I went out to get.


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## Minnesail

peikenberry said:


> Yeah I think I've seen some of those back when. When I graduated from CG boot camp a lot of the guys in my company went and got a tattoo. I can assure you that was not the first thing I went out to get.


Was it an ice cream cone?


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## capta

I have to wonder if this sad situation could have been simply averted by filling the fuel tank and/or changing the fuel filters? Sounds as though he had the funds for neither.


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## Minnewaska

peikenberry said:


> Give the kid a break. He's from Arizona. Where is he going to get ocean sailing experience in Arizona. He most likely had never even seen the ocean before. Yes what he did was dumb, but that doesn't mean he's dumb. Just lack of experience. He'll be back.


My posts quite literally gave him a break and credit for how he's handling it, but there is clearly a lack of common sense there. 21 years old is not a kid. I'm from New England and have never been to the Himalayas. I wouldn't buy a used tent and try to camp at 20,000ft in my shorts.

We all took more impulsive risks at that age, but his plan was to stay anchored in the ocean and commute to shore. There's reason to suspect a deficit in judgement here. As I already said, that doesn't eliminate all sympathy for him.



> As for all the comments about tattoos; sounds like you haven't spent much time around military people lately.


All service branches have eased their tattoo rules. However, that big neck thing wouldn't cut it. This fad will change and despite the prevalence in the military, which is less than 10% of the population, including veterans, it is still the distinct minority of US citizens that have a tatoo. It's still the minority of the youngest generations that have tatoos, even though it has risen.

A tattoo certainly doesn't make one a bad person. I have a brother in law with a couple. He owns his own successful company and has raised a terrific family. I have a niece, from another part of the family, with visible tattoos on her hands and fingers. She's been in and out of jail. There are no absolutes to be drawn, but one's judgement is likely correlated to the general disposition to put a bold tat on their neck.


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## chef2sail

Minnewaska said:


> My posts quite literally gave him a break and credit for how he's handling it, but there is clearly a lack of common sense there. 21 years old is not a kid. I'm from New England and have never been to the Himalayas. I wouldn't buy a used tent and try to camp at 20,000ft in my shorts.
> 
> We all took more impulsive risks at that age, but his plan was to stay anchored in the ocean and commute to shore. There's reason to suspect a deficit in judgement here. As I already said, that doesn't eliminate all sympathy for him.
> 
> All service branches have eased their tattoo rules. However, that big neck thing wouldn't cut it. This fad will change and despite the prevalence in the military, which is less than 10% of the population, including veterans, it is still the distinct minority of US citizens that have a tatoo. It's still the minority of the youngest generations that have tatoos, even though it has risen.
> 
> A tattoo certainly doesn't make one a bad person. I have a brother in law with a couple. He owns his own successful company and has raised a terrific family. I have a niece, from another part of the family, with visible tattoos on her hands and fingers. She's been in and out of jail. There are no absolutes to be drawn, but one's judgement is likely correlated to the general disposition to put a bold tat on their neck.


I don't agree that tats are such the minority you think they are. Your moment reflects the circles you travel in or the age group we both are in.
Most tattoos are not visible. Making a judgement or extrapolating a persons personality based on a tattoo perpetuates a stereotype .

He made his error in public . I don't think what he did is ant worse than a speeding young first time driver who crashes his car.

I for one think that this young man has shown progress in maturing and making better decisions. Growing is learning from your mistakes.

Tattoo Statistics - How Many People Have Tattoos?


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## Minnewaska

Duh.......... distinct minority.

Tattoo Statistics - How Many People Have Tattoos?



> 36% of Americans between the age of 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo.
> 
> In the U.S., 15 % of men and 13% of women have tattoos.
> 
> 36% of military veterans and those that currently serve the Army in United States have tattoos.


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## chef2sail

https://medium.com/daliaresearch/who-has-the-most-tattoos-its-not-who-you-d-expect-1d5ffff660f8

Large minority at 46%. Age is not at all confined to millennials.


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