Just curious as to what your cable length is? (where pod is on the mast). For me, using FD to learn how to pump was essential in improving my pump abilities. I do not see any point in leaving the assist on at all when trying to pump.
I can give you my experience and what I found useful for me, you can pull out of that what may be helpful for you. Keep in mind, learning to pump is a slow process, embrace the small gains you make along the way and build on that. Stay positive.
In general I find a smaller board is easier to pump than a larger one. Use the gear you have, if you have multiple boards, change them out from time to time to see how they feel.
When using FD to pump, regardless if flat or small bumps, put the wind at your back, and get going as fast as you can. I find that starting out with a bunch of speed is super helpful. If I am doing a workout in flat water, I crouch down get going at the maximum speed, then pop up and release the throttle the same time.
Along with speed, getting high and staying high on the mast is crucial. You want that initial pop up to get you as high as possible. You want the foil to be as close to surface as possible. You may breach a bit to figure out where that is, but super important.
Next pay attention to foot position. You want your front foot further back than you think. It has to be as close as you can get it to being over the front wing. When you get the feeling of “pushing” on something very solid, you are were you want it to be. In general, for me, When I am taking off on FD, my front foot is further forward to counter the lift of the motor, once on my feet, I keep sliding my front foot back, always further than I think. I will have my back foot more forward to help keep the nose down. I like to get my front foot positioned to where I like when not on the motor, before I come off the motor. Then I just move my back foot back for wave riding, a bit more forward for pumping.
When pumping, don’t think of pushing down. It is a feeling of hopping up and unweighting. You have hop up very close to even weight distribution between your feet. If you find yourself slowing down, with the nose up a bit, you have too much pressure on your back foot. This is still an issue for me at times, I have to consciously feel lighter on my back foot.
Try to look up and forward to where you want to go. It really helps.
Also don’t be afraid to make small changes in your setup along the way. Stay with the same setup for a full session or 2, then change only one thing. Mast position, tail shim, tail, fuse length, etc. but only change one thing and try for a bit. I found some small changes really helped. These will be different for everyone. You have to find what works best for you. A setup that works great for one person, may feel horrible to someone else. I found some counterintuitive changes that really helped my pump.
For me, learning to pump was a slow process, building on what felt and worked properly. You really just have to get out there and practice. There were a couple of videos that really resonated with me and were very helpful. In general they were pump foil videos.
When i first started my Prone journey, I could not pump 10 ft. I now can get 4 for 1’s with max battery on the board, a bit more with sport battery (I really find the sport battery much easier to pump). And on the rare occasion I have paddle in conditions without FD, can pump around for a bit.
Keep at it and have fun.
Pura Vida!
