Surfing Waves

Alright, so i've scoured the internet looking for surfing forums such as this one trying to get ideas. I'll start off saying I've only been out about 20ish times, and I am currently using my friends old 6'2 island classics board. I learned to urf on this board (though it was a pain in the....) and am able to get myself up and whatnot. Now i'm really looking for a board that I can progress on, something that I wont grow out of or get bored of in a year or two. I was originally looking at a Rusty Parahna, but was told from several surf shops that, they kinda suck. And from reading these boards i found that a fishtail isn't the best thing for a beginner like myself. I'm looking for a board thats somewhere between 6'6 and 6'10. I'm 5'11" and 130lbs. Any ideas?

I was actually thinking about making a custom board from wave riding vehicles. I was thinking maybe 6'8 x 18'' x 2.5''. I like the wide nose of the Rusty Paranha, so i'll see if they could rip that off, but i'd also want a squash tail. How does this sound?

those board dimensions sound sorta like a gun.. depending on the waves you surf, you might want to add some length and thickness, or subtract some height.

If you are local to san diego touch base with Brian at Phase One Surf.