When you are going to put the mast in the foil track, there are sometimes doubts about whether to put it further forward or further back. Boards sometimes have a sign indicating the position for beginners and advanced riders. The beginner brand usually has the foil in the back and the advanced brand has it further forward. To learn to pump, in general, the right thing to do is to put it in the position as far back as possible.
In fact, we could say that the entire back section of the board’s mast is more than enough to pump, and when you make a board by hand you shouldn’t leave more space behind because it would only serve to add weight. Also, beginners tend to put their feet and body too far back, so placing the mast further forward would accentuate this error even more.
Finally, in all the split boards I’ve seen, it happened that the mast was placed at the front. I understand that the front part of the foil plate is the one that puts the most pressure on the board when pumping, so if it still has a box to lean on because we’ve put the foil further back, the board is stronger. On the other hand, if we put the foil all the way forward, the corner of the plate that puts the most pressure on the board is directly on the board without a box and therefore it doesn’t have the extra hardness that the box gives it.
