Surfing Waves

Hi! I know you get a lot of these questions about board recommendations but if anyone could help me out it would be so great!
I've been on a 7'4 squashtail funboard for almost a year now, getting out in the water maybe twice a week and am going to go for my first shortboard soon. I thought I'd see if anyone on here would have any suggestions as to how short I could go without being too over-ambitious? I'm about to head off to San Sebastian for 3 months so will be surfing everyday for that time and then back to twice a week when I get home.. so I'll have a good solid run at getting started on the shortboard. I'm 5'7, 130 pounds, 23 and pretty athletic. How short do you reckon I could go?
Also, I heard that for women, boards should ideally be a little narrower and little more concave than usual - do you think I should ask for this when ordering the board? (I'll be going for a custom)

if you are going for a custom, bring your board with you to the shaper and have an honest chat with him about where you are at skill-wise and what sort of waves you'll be surfing. he'll be able to advise you better than pretty much anyone on here.

i'd advise doing this ASAP as he may want you to try a few different ones before settling on a final shape. you'll definitely get the most out of it this way.

yep just be honest with the shaper and you will get something suited to your needs.

Thanks for the advice! Thing is, I'm getting the board shipped over from abroad (friend abroad can get them real cheap) so I won't get to really have a chat with the shaper or try out different boards, which I know kind of goes against the point of going custom, but it's working out cheaper than getting a popout and only just a little more expensive than buying a second hand custom board so I'm just gonna bite the bullet and go for it. I knew I'd get a telling off if I'd admit that on here though!

in that case, how bout a little more info bout your skill level, what sort of waves (size etc.) fat or hollow, fitness?

how you getting on on the 7'4"? find it's holding you back in any way?

how cheap you getting this board? you might find a local shaper cheaper than you think. got one shaped over here a couple of months ago for 350euro. best thing i ever did. board feels like it was made for me. if you are not going to talk to the shaper you might be better off buying a cheap second hand custom. at least that way you can see what you are getting before you buy it. could end up with a lemon otherwise. if its from abroad the shaper won't know anything about the waves you are surfing or you for that matter.

if you go through a few cheap 2nd hand boards you'll have a better picture of what you want yourself... as i already said, a good shaper will probably want you to try a few different boards first anyway.

A shortboard your size would be about 6'1" if you where a better surfer. I would recommend getting an in-between board before going all the way down. At your weight you can preety much surf anything, you just aren't ready yet.

Suggestion: thinking outside the box, any board that is not funboard shape will have way better performance and be easier to duckdive. So how about buying a board that would be bigger than a shortboard, a step up, that you can use to transition down but also can use on big days and buy a shortboard later? I'd say about 6'6" or so. Also, for begginers a thumb tail has smoother turns, the squash is for sharper turns that sometimes begginers have problems with.

If not, a board around 6'1" or so would be your size, but I would not recommend it at your skill level.