Noob Learning on a Short

[trojanwr21]

Hi everyone. Ok, so I'm a kook/noob...haha, ok got that out of the way. But my goal is to become good enough not to be categorized as one. I picked up surfing not too long ago. I'm 5'6" 145lbs and surf around huntington beach CA. Unfortunately the only board I have is a short board that I bought dirt cheap from an old co-worker. It's an old surfboard (probably a popout) but it's defintely a short board (5'10") with a few dings that I repaired myself. I can definitely get up on long boards but I have major problems on the short boards (and I know I shouldn't be starting on one but since I'm low on cash flow, this is the best I can do). So here are a couple of things I noticed:

1) I'm not paddling effectively since I can't catch the wave. A few times I've been able to body board the wave but most of the time it just rolls past me. My guess is to paddle with long/deep strong strokes and more quicker strokes when the wave comes. Any pointers?

2) When combined with #1, after I pop up, I can't catch the wave because it rolls past me. I've read somewhere that you want to be leaning forward on the popup to add forward momentum to keep up with the wave. Is this true? I have a tendancy of leaning back, which I guess creates drag.

In light of all of this, I also considered getting a longer board but like I said, cash flow is the problem. I did run across this website that has custom shapers build the board for you. It's called surfboardbuilders (dot com). Looks legit. Wondering if any of you have experience with them? If worse comes the worse, I'll save for a custom board. If any of you know of any good shapers that can shape a noob board for me, that'll be cool. Thanks everyone, I enjoy reading all of the posts on this forum. And don't worry, I might be a kook but I know surfing etiqutte.

[stuzzy07]

1. you need to be properly positioned on your board. you want the nose sticking an inch or 2 out of the water. Take deep hard strokes to get into the wave. Sit where the other shortboarders are sitting in the line up. Sounds like you might be too far out.

2. When you stand up, push down on your front foot, not your back foot. If you lean back or place a lot of pressure on your back foot you will stall the board and fall off the back of the wave. You want to be low to your board, knees bent and leaning slightly forward on the drop.

3. It just takes time and practice. Have fun. keep the stoke.

[crepuscular]

add some to stuzzy's pointers...
1. paddle as hard as you can like your life is depending on it, just pretend u saw a shark behind u ;p
2. keep your centre of gravity as low as possible, one being easier to balance on the board, second better control