Learn to dock start & pump foil in 3 sessions - the only video you need!

Following these tips helped me to learn to dock start and pump foil in only 3 sessions! Give it a go and let me know how you went.
SPECIAL THANKS to Dietmar, Sebastian, Christian and Erol for their patience, tips, tricks and equipment!!!
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[@stkl23]

It‘s always great to have that one youtuber who knows more than all the other youtubers. Dude, please. You‘re teaching what works for you and that is fine. But please don‘t discredit other guys who describe what works for them. Every foil/board combination works different and many will mercilessly nose-dive if you land front foot first.

[@hoppline]

Hey, you are absolutely right !! I did not want to miss credit anyone and kind of regret the part in my heading "... - the only video you need!" Like you said it all comes down to personal preference, skill and equipment. I still believe that when you have the choice, you are better off with dropping the front foot first, but like you said right, that my own opinion. Further I know a lot of youtubers are biased by the company the work for, are sponsored by or related to. So I was trying to help newcomers by saying to stay away from high aspect foils. It's the same in surfing, people tend to start on too small boards. Seen this for decades. I know a lot of people can't afford to buy beginners equipment and than buy again a few weeks later. I totally understand. That's why I recommended to borrow and happily borrow my stuff to friends.....In conclusion: Happy for any further advice and did not meant to insault anyone! For me, it's all about the fun....

[@stkl23]

@@hoppline On the borrow part: totally agree - in the end it‘s much more fun when you’re learning together with friends.

[@muntyanschool1633]

100%. There are even easier techniques where you keep contact with (hold) the board almost until you put your legs on it. More predictable and more stable. Landing with the front foot first is also arguable. But it’s great your technique works for you. Cheers!

[@hoppline]

@@muntyanschool1633 Thanks for your input! Heard about the hand hold start and that it is a great preparation for beach start as well. Here we are all old folks with busted knees and backs so holding on makes it even more difficult (-: ! Dockstart REALLY comes down to personal preference and I am hope for any input! THANKS

[@waynegaotmu5367]

Thanks. These are probably the best dock start suggestions! Appreciated

[@hoppline]

Thanks! Appreciate your feedback!

[@InstinctDefenseAcademy]

thanks for all the great tips

[@hoppline]

You are welcome! 🙏

[@solentfoiler5969]

I think the foot you land with first depends on whether you jump onto the board, like you demonstrate, or climb onto the board. Jumping is a higher skill level and is more like rock starting. Dock starting, to me, is using the space under the dock to put your foil so you can run along the dock and then launch onto the board. Keeping contact and control of your board with your hands for as long as possible is also something to consider as you can fine tune your weight placement by where you hold the board and allows a softer landing onto the board than jumping. This is better back foot first because your front hand is keeping the nose of the board down, and the recovery happens as you put your front foot on the board.

[@hoppline]

Maybe the sentence "-the only video you need!" was a little over the target (-: I recently watched a lot of other learning to dock start, both jump start and running start. I think the personal approach and progress depends on your surfing background and individual preference. I did not talk much about running start in my video, so thanks for your addition !! I personally also prefer front foot first on the running start, but it has to be done VERY gentle and I know a lot of people are having more success with back foot first. Anyway, get out there, get wet, have fun - that's what it's all about.

[@ozoneflysurfer9491]

excellent tutorial!yeah front foot first

[@adamr0409]

Fantastic. Both the strategies but also your vibe. Nice job. Stoked to get out there and figure it out!

[@hoppline]

Thank you very much 😉

[@philippemartin9690]

Excellent video! I unfortunately dont wing or have a boat to learn how to pump but hope to succeed someday anyway! 🙏🏄‍♀️🤩

[@hoppline]

Hey, thanks !! Don't worry, it's good to start with pumping first, but you can learn it the other way around, too. It just might take a little longer (-: Just take it easy and have fun....

[@muntyanschool1633]

Too obsessed with “other fancy KZbinrs” 😁. Take it easy mate!

[@hoppline]

Don't want to be fancy, just trying to share my passion. Just started this channel and being in front of the camera is harder than I thought. Still have to try and find my style, but sad to hear you will not be part of this progress 😁. Thanks anyway

[@marcoscasanueva]

Great video, lots of valuable insights

[@hoppline]

THANKS, I appreciate! Lots more coming soon!

[@bernardstark]

Really good tips, thank you

[@hoppline]

THANKS!

[@youdigsurf]

Thanks for the advices

[@hoppline]

Good luck!

[@IRWE905]

All Great Tips! I would add. Mast length no longer then 75 cm when learning. Have a Board Holder or someone holding the Board to start learning the Glide Phase then incorporate the Board Push. Wear a Mouthguard. All the great Pump Foilers started on large Foils ;)

[@hoppline]

Hey, thanks for adding those tips !!! Indeed I think 72cm - 75cm mast is the best to start with. I am not a fan of the board holder or someone holding my board, but that is just personal. I know that it worked really well for some friends of mine, so that's a great addition as well.

[@mp.345]

I started with 82 cm, which did not work well( together with a high aspect png1310), but with a 75 and a mifd/ low aspect wing thing became much easier. Surprisingly, the 82 cm mast is much easier for me to pump now, but i have to admit, that starting with 75 seems best…

[@mp.345]

Great tips for learning!!! Thank you, would have saved me many hours…

[@hoppline]

@@mp.345 Same here. I started on a 82cm mast and wish I had a 75 or even smaller at the beginning. Now it's fine!

[@jeffarcher400]

I got this idea to learn where this estuary drains into the ocean. I hope to anchor or tie off to a bridge piling a rope with a waterski handle. When the tide goes out it gets a nice even flow. Yesterday some guy was beating me to it with a surfboard and he said it was ok with the lifeguards. Wondering if the wing mounted on a solid wakeboard type of board will even float? Worried it might sink and be lost in waves. So I taped it to a boogie board for flotation. Worried about hitting the bottom in shallows. I figure it has to be over knee deep. One video said it's about beating drag with forward momentum. I'm thinking enough lift will make drag irrelevant. How about a biplane design with one wing high on the mast so it's out of the water flying. Or have a deep water start second wing that retracts up to the board after takeoff.

[@hoppline]

Hey Jeff, most of this has been done before. If you look up "river foil" or "bungee foil" there quiet a few people doing similar stuff. If the current is not so strong it helps to ride to the side (left and right) to gain more speed and therefore more lift. Horue once had a biplane foil but they never went beyond a prototype, probably for a reason. And last but not least, always wear some protection, foils are sharp and there's a lot to go wrong (-:

[@jamiejay000]

Thanks for this brilliantly clear and considered video. Really appreciated and very inspiring. I'm just starting my journey and was wondering what foil you'd recommend for a 83kg, 47yr old who's not super fit. Looking at the axis png options or art pro 1401. Any guidance would be really appreciated. thanks again for all the awesome and inspiring videos and reviews.

[@hoppline]

Hey, thanks for the compliment! Really appreciate! As a beginner who is not super fit I would go for a thicker Frontwing. Axis in general has great pumping wings with fantastic glide and efficiency, but they do need some speed and handling knowledge to master the start. Indiana and Sabfoil offer some thicker profile with more chamber that offer a much lower start speed. The downside: You might outgrown the foil fast. I would try to pick up a big and thick used foil and than move on.

[@jamiejay000]

@@hoppline Thanks so much for this! Great advice! Will definitely keep an eye out for the sabfoil 1350 and see if I can find a used one here in the uk. thanks again & looking forward to your excellent future guides and reviews!

[@Kitefuchs]

Super erklärt!🎉

[@hoppline]

Danke (-:

[@randompuntur]

Thanks for the vid! What kind of board is best? What’s the little black one you have?

[@hoppline]

Hey, the little black on is the Sabfoil B08. I just put some yellow tape on the edges for look and protection (-: ! I prefer shorter and lighter boards and think the perfekt length is somewhere between 85cm to 90cm. For the pumping itself you don't need Volume in the board but it helps when you are paddling back. So in the ocean I prefer a board with more volume and floatation. If you just want to learn to pump foil pretty much everything works. I tried an old skateboard (in my shorts videos) and with a single layer of glas fiber it would have worked. MIO boards is making a nice board I am considering right now. It has more rocker than my current board which I like to keep my frontfoot locked in.....

[@jeromep4148]

I have a dock 55 cm above the water surface, and my foil is an Armstrong HS1850 with a 77 cm mast. This seem to match what you are suggesting, yes??? Then you basically push off the dock and land either perfectly level or in a slight downward path. Is this correct? Sort of like how you would jump on a stationary or slow moving skateboard?

[@hoppline]

Hey, nice set up! The HS1850 should work fine, but might need a little more speed to start with. A 55cm dock and 77cm mast sounds perfect. If you prefer a jumping start it is pretty much like you said and yes, it is similar to jumping on a moving skateboard. Like I said in my video, it helps to know how to pump first and than start the rest. Just give it a try. To get some more speed for your specific frontwing you could also try a running start. In this video is a short sequence of a friend of mine and I think it's a perfect example. He is not running to fast and balancing the board with his hands. Key is to keep the board on one level to the water surface and always parallel. He ist doing the "climbing" move, back foot first, which some people prefer and find it easier. Look at his right hand, how it moves from the rails to the top of the deck to balance the upward force of the foil.....Best thing is to just give it a go. Take it easy, don't have to many expectations and have fun !!

[@Sixthflyer]

Great advice 👍 Is this the SAB 1250 frontwing your video? What stabilizer? Thank you

[@hoppline]

Hey, there are different frontwings in the video, but the W1250 was one of them. With the W1250 my favorite stabi is the 399, making the wing a little more playfull. With the Leviathan 1350 I personally prefer S380 gullshape stabi. It makes the set up very loose, to loose for some heavier rider. They usually prefer the S430 gullshape. Hope that helps (-:

[@Sixthflyer]

Thanks, that helps. I got the WL1350, 380 and 430. So i will first try these. Just waiting for the board

[@hoppline]

@@Sixthflyer Nice set up! Will work might just need some patience and practice!

[@prinzrolle5478]

Hey das ist der Steg in "..." oder? Gehört der einem Verein? Ist der öffentlich zugänglich? Muss man da sonst noch etwas beachten? Dann würde ich da nämlich auch mal ein paar Versuche starten :)

[@hoppline]

Hey Prinz, kannst du mir einen Gefallen tun und den Ortsnamen aus deinem Kommentar durch "....." ersetzen? Surfspot sind ja immer ein sensibles Gut 😜. Leider kann man hier bei KZbin keine privaten Nachrichten schreiben. Du findest mich bei Insta ebenfalls unter @hoppline, dann kann ich dir gerne mehr verraten 😉

[@vim55k]

Hey, thanks for the advices! I am thinking to use dock start as a method to learn foil pumping towards learning wing-foil. What do you think?

[@hoppline]

Sure possible, but that's the hard way (-: I know some people that have gone the path, but it's pretty hard to start pumping from nothing. I think the other way around makes way more sense and progress will be much faster. Instead of pumping you could start behind a boat, jetski or on a wakeboard lift. That's a lot easier and great preparation for both, wing foiling and pumping !!

[@jamiebennett3857]

back foot to land first, switch take off foot

[@hoppline]

I think it all comes down to personal preference (-:

[@fredodofre]

Thanks. I'm near 50 sessions and still don't manage it (20 meters maximum). kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4i2loyLha9_gM0 The issue may be that i don't know how to pump. I find pumping with a 70L wing board is difficult, and I don't know to which extend it will be similar than with the pumping board, and pumping with a pocketboard kitefoil is cheating because there's always some pull from the kite. Maybe learning behind a boat first is the only solution?

[@hoppline]

Hey, I think you are doing good. Here are a few suggestions how to improve: The Rise XXL is not the best pumping wing. It works but you need to be pumping at a very fast interval and it is hard to get high on the foil. The higher you are, the easier and more efficient it gets!! That alone really makes a difference. If you have a different frontwing, something like a Levithan 1350, use that one. Further, try to use your arms more. Raise them higher to have less weight on the board and therefore get higher out of the water. Try to slow down a little (you still have to pump fast because of the Rise XXL) but put more pressure on your backfoot, jump hard in an upward and forward motion and try to get as high as you can with no weight on the board. Use your arms high above your head to get even higher and be more or less weightless. Pull your knees towards your body when you are climbing to allow your board to climb as high as possible. Than apply pressure again and start over again.....Might take some practice but you are doing good already. I think a new frontwing would be the game changer, but practice will lead to a similar effect (-:

[@fredodofre]

@@hoppline Thanks! I've tried mid aspect frontwing (Curve XLT, Veloce XLT), but I'm not able to give it enough speed + I'm not precise enough with the front/back tilting, so I end up stalling. Other low aspect frontwings like Takuma lol 1800 works slightly better but not enough difference to justify spending money on it. So my plan is to go until 30 seconds with Rise XXL, then go directly to high aspect (axis png 1300 or something similar). After watching all the videos with Rise XXL of youtube my conclusion is that it needs 1.8 pump/sec at start, then 1.6 to keep going. Feasible for 30 seconds I think. For the moment I don't fly enough to even feel tired. I will apply your unweighting advice

[@hoppline]

@@fredodofre I had a similar way, almost made to wrong frontwing work and than switched to a larger wing in it took me only two sessions to master my first minute. I prefer the Leviathans over the Axis for pumping but that's personal preference. The Axis has more speed in downwind, the Leviatan more glide and low end....

[@fredodofre]

@@hoppline I suppose I'll go to the first good second hand offer I found. Indeed, I want to use the same foil for supfoil dw

[@hoppline]

@@fredodofre My downwind board ist still in delivery so I can't tell much about the Leviathan performance in downwind. But I hope to utilize the Sabfoil 1350 for smaller wave down wind.