This paper addresses the real-time optimal control of a1/25thscale three-body hinge-barge wave energy device. The objective of the control is to maximize the power extracted by the device under given constraints on the maximum displacements,velocities and control forces. An optimal pseudo-spectral control based on the Half-Range Chebyshev-Fourier basis functions is presented. HRCF basis functions are well suited for the approximation of non-periodic signals, allowing the representation of both the transient and steady-state response of the device.A reduced equivalent dynamic model of the device, which is computationally more advantageous than a full dynamic model,is obtained for the optimal control problem formulation. Results show that pseudo-spectral control outperforms a simple control strategy based on the optimal constant passive damping for both monochromatic and polychromatic waves.