Hemp at Sea: The Forgotten Staple of Maritime History

In a coastal museum in Staithes, England, a yellowed notice from 1828 advertises a “Wreck Sale” at a local inn. Listed among the salvaged cargo from the doomed schooner Bounty are everyday staples of the 19th century: dried fish, timber, whale oil, flax – and hemp. Even the ship’s rope and sailcloth were up for auction. This humble artefact offers a vivid reminder that hemp was once a lifeline of maritime life. Long before it was caught up in 20th-century prohibitions, hemp was as common on the high seas as saltwater and wood, entwined with the daily workings of ships and the fortunes of sailors.

The Many Uses of Hemp in Maritime Life

In the age of sail, hemp was everywhere on a ship. It’s no exaggeration to say that, in the 1800s, hemp was the most used shipbuilding material after wood[1]. Sailors relied on hemp for critical gear and supplies, including:

• Ropes & Rigging: From anchor cables to halyards, virtually all ropes were made of hemp. Tough, thick hemp lines hoisted sails, anchored ships, and kept the masts standing tall[2]. Hemp was favored because it was the only fiber that could endure months of sea air and salt water without disintegrating[2]. (To slow down rot, the ropes were coated in tar – a messy job that earned British seamen the nickname “Jack Tar”[3].)
• Sails & Canvas: Ships’ sails were traditionally made from heavy hemp canvas. In fact, the very word “canvas” comes from cannabis. Sturdy hemp sailcloth could catch the wind across oceans without tearing. In the 19th century, sails were often 100% hemp fabric[4], hand-stitched from broad hemp panels. A single tall ship’s suit of sails might require acres of hemp crops to produce – it’s said each set of sails for a large vessel used fiber from nearly half a hectare of hemp plants[5]!
• Caulking (Oakum): Hemp even helped keep ships afloat by sealing them up. Sailors waterproofed the wooden hulls using oakum – tar-soaked hemp fiber that was pounded into the seams between planks to stop leaks[6]. Recycling was alive and well: old hemp ropes were unraveled by hand (often by prisoners or unfortunate workhouse souls) into loose fiber, soaked in pine tar, and hammered into the ship’s gaps. This messy hemp-tar mix created a tight seal against the sea. Without hemp caulking, those wooden ships would have swiftly taken on water[6].
• Fishing Nets & Lines: Coastal communities like Staithes, famed for fishing, also turned to hemp for making nets and fishing lines. Hemp twine was strong and resisted saltwater better than most natural fibers, making durable nets to haul in the day’s catch. Historical records note that hemp nets were in use for centuries in British waters for their reliability[7][8].
• Canvas & Cloth Onboard: Beyond sails, hemp canvas served for sailor’s hammocks, tarpaulins, and sacks. Hard-wearing hemp cloth was used for crew clothing and ships’ flags. A ship might be provisioned with hemp canvas bags for food storage, hemp webbing for harnesses, and other countless little uses. In essence, if it was a fabric or rope on a 19th-century vessel, it was likely hemp.

All told, a great sailing ship carried an enormous quantity of hemp. Between the miles of rigging, multiple sets of sails, spare lines, nets, and oakum, a fully-rigged ship of the 1800s could have 50–100 tons of hemp onboard in one form or another[5]. Little wonder naval powers zealously secured hemp supplies. (In fact, hemp was so strategic that conflicts brewed over it – during the Napoleonic Wars, Britain’s Royal Navy depended on Russian hemp imports for 90% of its rope and sail needs, and Napoleon schemed to cut off that supply[9][2].) Hemp truly was the hidden engine of maritime empires – a plant that fueled global trade long before petroleum or modern synthetics.

The 1828 Staithes Wreck Auction: Hemp’s Role Revealed

What does that auction bill from Staithes tell us about hemp’s role at sea? For one, it shows how valuable and ubiquitous hemp was by the 1820s. The Bounty’s salvaged goods – listed alongside whale oil and fine timber – included hemp and flax, likely in raw fiber bales or as part of the ship’s cargo. The inclusion of “rope and ship’s fittings” in the auction implies the recovery of the vessel’s hemp rigging and sails as well. Local sailors and shipowners would have eagerly bid on those ropes, cables, and canvas, since such items were costly to produce from scratch. A salvaged hemp hawser (thick rope) could find new life mooring a fishing boat; repurposed sailcloth might patch up another ship’s sails or be sewn into sturdy fishermen’s smocks.

This little coastal sale poster paints a picture of a circular economy of the sea. A wreck wasn’t just debris to haul away – it was an opportunity to reclaim precious materials. In a hardscrabble fishing village like Staithes, hemp fibers were truly a community resource. Recycled oakum from old ropes would seal new boats. Weathered sails would be cut down for smaller craft. Nothing went to waste, because hemp had real monetary worth. Seeing “Hemp” itemized on that 1828 flyer – in an era before modern plastics and petroleum – reminds us that hemp was not some niche crop; it was a maritime staple, as necessary to a seafaring town as bait and barrels.

There’s also a poignant symbolism in that auction notice now residing in the Staithes museum. It survives as a relic of hemp’s heyday, when Cannabis sativa was a workhorse fiber, not a prohibited plant. In the two centuries since, hemp’s story almost slipped from memory, like a shipwreck sinking beneath the waves. To the people of 1828, though, those bundles of hemp represented money, utility, and future voyages yet to sail. Hemp was hope – the rigging for the next ship, the net for the next catch, the caulking to keep the next hull dry.

From Essential Resource to Prohibition and Decline

The prominence of hemp in maritime life continued through the age of sail, but by the early 20th century the winds began to change. A convergence of factors – technological, economic, and political – led to hemp’s dramatic decline. Steamships and motor vessels reduced the need for canvas sails and natural-fiber rigging. Competing materials like cotton (for canvas) and Manila fiber (for rope) were available in global trade. And most fatefully, hemp was swept up in the rising tide of cannabis prohibition.

In the early 1900s, attitudes shifted and hemp went from maritime staple to misunderstood outlaw. Many Western countries conflated industrial hemp with its psychoactive cousin, marijuana. The consequences were severe. Britain banned hemp cultivation in 1928, and the United States followed with the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, effectively outlawing hemp farming[10][11]. Around the same time, DuPont’s new synthetic fiber nylon hit the market – soon touted as a miracle replacement for rope and webbing. By the end of World War II, cheaper synthetics and strict drug laws had pushed hemp to the margins.

There was a brief moment of reprieve during WWII: facing material shortages, the U.S. government temporarily encouraged farmers to grow hemp again for the war effort (famously producing a film titled Hemp for Victory in 1942). Old habits proved hard to revive – once the war ended, hemp fell back under prohibition. In 1961 the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs sealed hemp’s fate globally by classifying cannabis (with no distinction for low-THC industrial hemp) as a controlled substance[12]. The crop that had once rigged the great ships of the world was now contraband. By the late 20th century, fields that had grown hemp for rope and canvas were growing nothing of the sort. Generations forgot that their sailing ancestors even used hemp.

The ironies run deep. As hemp vanished, modern ships turned entirely to steel cables, petroleum-derived plastics, and chemical fibers. In just a few decades, a plant that had literally helped conquer the world’s oceans was nearly erased from industry and culture. Hemp went from a strategic naval resource to a historical footnote – a “forgotten staple,” indeed.

A 21st-Century Revival: Back to the Future with Hemp

Today, the story of hemp is coming full circle. After decades adrift, hemp is in the midst of a global revival – not for clipper ships and manila ropes, but for sustainability and innovation. As we grapple with climate change and plastic pollution, this old plant is finding a new calling. Modern industries are rediscovering what sailors and shipwrights knew centuries ago: hemp is incredibly versatile, strong, and eco-friendly.

In the past 20 years, laws have gradually relaxed to distinguish non-intoxicating industrial hemp from drugs. Countries from Australia to Canada, the U.S., and across Europe have re-legalized hemp farming for fiber, food, and other uses. This has unlocked a wave of creativity. Hemp fiber is once again prized for making textiles, clothing, and even high-tech composites. Designers blend hemp with organic cotton or use its linen-like threads in fashion, recognizing that hemp textiles are durable and require far less water and chemicals than cotton[13][14]. In construction, hemp’s woody core is mixed with lime to create hempcrete, a carbon-storing, insulating material now used in eco-friendly homes. Its fibers are pressed into thermal insulation batts, bioplastics, and even car parts[15]. Researchers are exploring hemp for everything from sustainable packaging to supercapacitors. It seems there’s little this plant can’t do.

In a poetic twist, hemp is also reappearing in maritime contexts – this time as part of green design. Boat builders have experimented with hemp fiber composites for lighter, greener hulls, and traditional tall ships occasionally sport hemp canvas sails or ropes for historical authenticity. While modern shipping won’t return to all-hemp rigging (steel and synthetics have their place), the maritime world hasn’t completely forgotten its trusty old ally. The knowledge that hemp resists UV light, mildew, and salt remains relevant for inventors seeking natural alternatives to plastics.

Crucially, consumers and companies are now viewing hemp through the lens of legacy. Rather than a novel trend, hemp’s resurgence is framed as a return to tradition – with a sustainable twist. Every hemp T-shirt, hempcrete wall, or hemp plastic prototype carries an echo of the past. We’re not inventing a new material; we’re reviving a time-tested resource for the modern age.

Embracing Hemp’s Legacy

The tale of hemp at sea is more than a maritime history lesson – it’s a reminder of how quickly a vital resource can be forgotten, and how joyfully it can be rediscovered. Standing in front of that 1828 wreck auction poster at the Staithes Museum, one can’t help feeling a warm connection to those seafarers of old who valued hemp so dearly. They might be surprised to learn that, nearly 200 years later, hemp is again being championed as a solution to contemporary problems. From sustainable textiles to green building, the “industrial hemp” of today is picking up right where the old sailmakers and ropemakers left off.

At Margaret River Hemp Co, this sense of continuity is at the heart of what we do. We take inspiration from hemp’s rich heritage in places like Staithes and Whitby as we craft modern products for a better future. After all, the resurgence of hemp isn’t just a passing fad – it’s the revival of a legacy. The same plant that caulked wooden ships and filled clipper sails now has a role in reducing waste and building sustainably. We find that incredibly encouraging. This is why we love seeing historical references to hemp – it reminds us that hemp isn’t a trend, it’s a tradition and a legacy. By embracing hemp’s past, we’re also charting a course to a more resilient future, on land and sea alike.

Sources:

1. Staithes Museum (artifact), Shipwreck Auction Notice, Whitby (1828) – Salvaged cargo listing hemp, ropes, sailcloth, etc. (Photograph)
2. Jo Dope Blog – Hemp and Ships – Hempen Ships? (Aug 20, 2024) – discusses historical uses of hemp in 1800s shipbuilding (sails, ropes, caulking)[1][6]
3. CannaReporter – Napoleon Bonaparte: How Hemp and Cannabis Were Important… (Feb 28, 2025) – notes 19th-century navies depended on hemp; each sailing ship carried 50–100 tons of hemp rope, sails, oakum[2][5]
4. Wikipedia – Hemp: Etymology of canvas from cannabis; tarred hemp ropes and “Jack Tar” nickname[16][3]
5. Wikipedia – Oakum: Description of oakum as tarred hemp fiber used for caulking wooden ships[17]
6. The Boon Room – Fish Nets (Many Uses of Hemp) – explains hemp’s use in durable fishing nets since medieval times[7][8]
7. Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp – Hemp in History (2023) – timeline noting hemp’s 20th-century decline (UK ban 1928, US 1937, nylon invention 1938) and 21st-century revival in sustainable industries[11][15]

Jo Dope's Journey: The Role of Hemp in Maritime History – JoDope

Napoleon Bonaparte: How Hemp and Cannabis Were Important in the Life of the French Conqueror – CannaReporter

Hemp - Wikipedia

Fish Nets - The Many Uses of Hemp

Hemp in history | ALLIANCE

Hemp textiles : where do we stand today ?

Oakum - Wikipedia