How To Pump a Hydrofoil

This video will help you learn how to pump a hydrofoil so that you stay in the wave,  can pump over to and ride a variety of different waves, catch the 'Jesus' wave left over from other boats, and strengthen your overall foilboard skills.  

We'll start with easy drills behind the boat and show you progressively more challenging drills that will make you better on a foil and open up your overall wakesurf and ocean foil surf possibilities.

WHY learn to Pump a Hydrofoil?

  1. Pumping in the ocean

    • Pumping is a fantastic skill to learn so you can get back out to catch more waves.  After you have finished surfing one wave, you will pump back out to ride another.  We call this ‘reconnecting waves’ or ‘looping waves.’

  2. Pumping behind a boat

    • If you’re behind a boat and start to slip off the wave, a quick, short pump can get you back into the wave.  It’s also very helpful in wave transitions….especially wave transfer from wave 2 to 3, 3 to 4, etc as the waves get further apart.

  3. Transfer from one wave to another

    • If you want to do wave transfers, where you want to go from boat to boat or pirate other boats’ waves, knowing how to pump effectively in a wave or outside of a wave is critical.

    •  It’s also very helpful in wave transitions….especially wave transfer from wave 2 to 3, 3 to 4, etc as the waves get further apart.

  4. Helps keep you in shape

    • Pumping is a lot of work and gets your heart rate up, so it is great for your cardio.

HOW to pump

  1. Foot placement:

    • Place your back foot on the leading edge of the mast, you may want to move your front foot a little bit further up on the board. 

  2. Foot pressure and motion:

    • When you stand on the board, put a little bit of pressure on the front foot and then put pressure on your back foot while trying to keep that board relatively flat as you're pumping. You're going to practice this motion,  your front foot goes down, then your back foot.  Very similar to the motion to ollie a skateboard.

  3. Use your arms:

    • You will also be using your arms. You're going to swing your arms to give yourself momentum. You don't want to  swing vertically up and down because that will push the foil straight down into the water.  You're going to swing a little bit forward and that's going to bring your body forward to help you propel. Begin to pump and try to get into a rhythm, you’ll find as you get into that rhythm you can go progressively further and further.

  4. Keep the foil high:

    • Think about lifting the foil up in the water column and keeping it high.  If you start losing speed, get your pump going and when you get up high, you'll feel yourself going a lot faster.  The higher you are on the mast, the closer the foil is to the surface and the more efficient the pump.

Drills to learn how to pump

  1. Start with the rope in your hand on the first wave behind the boat.  Work on the pump motion and try to keep the board relatively flat. Try to get to the point where you have a bit of slack in the line.

  2. Next try to drop the rope and start doing progressively larger turns away from the boat wave and back to see how long you can sustain your pump. Keep the board up high.

  3. Then try to go from the first wave to the second wave.  If you’re new to foiling on the second wave, start with rope in hand and do the same drill as you did on the first wave.

Advanced Pumping

  1. While pumping behind a boat, have the driver kill the power (put the boat throttle in neutral) to give you  a little push and keep pumping until you are out in front of the boat. Challenge yourself, see how far you can go out, then have the driver catch up to you so you can come back to the first or second wave.

  2. A “Jesus” wave is a wave left over by another boat - the best are from cruisers who are going too fast to pirate (over 16mph) or wakesurf boats that leave a big wake. Pumping and gliding allows you to stay on the “Jesus'' wave and get long rides.  You don't want to out pump the wave, you basically want to pump just enough to stay inside of it.  Read it and follow the trough.  The trough is your visual clue for where you are on the wave and from there it’s all about feel. 

  3. Stealing another boat's wave, also known as pirating, is so fun.  If you see another boat, a Yacht, or even a tanker, go steal the wave. Slight pump adjustments might be needed, you won’t be pumping non-stop, but you’ll use short bursts of pumping to be able to get back into the wave or to position yourself appropriately. Always be very courteous of the other drivers so they don’t get nervous and when in doubt, move back a few waves from the boat (4th, 5th, 8th, wave etc).  Make sure to check out the look on the captain's face - Classic.  

Pro Tip

  • Board size and setup will change how you pump.  A board with a shorter fuse and a smaller wing, you’ll need a faster cadence  A board with a longer fuse and bigger wing gives you a little more time and you’ll need a slower cadence. 


Want an Armstrong Foil setup? We are your go to experts to help you get the hydrofoil set up you've always wanted. Please email us at halflifet.5@gmail.com or visit us at https://www.halflife.live/products?category=Armstrong%20Foils

Tim Tiscornia