Surfing Waves

I'm 5'3'' and 115 and have been surfing for a while, I'm very comfortable on a longboard and a fun board, but i really want to get into short boarding. I have gotten up on a 5'10 and a 6'4 in hawaii with a surf coach but it wasn't easy. I have a Lost uber plank but i don't really consider that a true shortboard since its so wide and floaty. How big should i go with a shortboard for moving down? should i get like a 6'6'' so its easy to paddle and floats me? The waves where i live are usually small beach breaks from 1-5 feet

emma0307 wrote:How big should i go with a shortboard for moving down? should i get like a 6'6'' so its easy to paddle and floats me?

Sounds about right. There's nothing more miserable than being on a board that's too small for you, so at this stage, you'll want to play it safe. However, as you've got the fishy plank (how long is that one?), I'd start with that and then keep the length but decrease the volume. A thick wide 6'6 shortboard isn't going to be much different at this stage, and you're not ready for a super-skinny shortboard.

emma0307 wrote:The waves where i live are usually small beach breaks from 1-5 feet

It's probably just newbie terminology, but there's a huge difference in what you need for a 1ft beachbreak and a grinding overhead 5ft beachbreak
If you're on a 1-3ft wave, then the uber plank is perfect.
But a shortboard suitable for a 5ft beachie is way beyond you at the moment (5ft is a big wave....)

The uber plank is a 5'10'' by the way, forgot to add

emma0307 wrote:I have gotten up on a 5'10 and a 6'4 in hawaii with a surf coach but it wasn't easy.

"Gotten up" - Got to your feet and that's it or you actually rode across the wave ?

"In Hawaii" - Hawaii the surfing capital of the world. Were you at a reef break ? Is where you surf, just like the wave in Hawaii ?

"With a Surf Coach" - is he/she with you now ? Did that person line you up and time for you when to paddle ?

emma0307 wrote: I'm very comfortable on a longboard and a fun board, but i really want to get into short boarding.

WHY ? What reasons lead you to want to ride short board ? All your peers ride short boards ? You just saw the movie "Blue Crush" ? Your having a hard time getting out and want to duck dive ?

My advice is to get really good at backside cutbacks on your Uber board before you get a true short board. Can you do those yet ?