Surfing Waves

hey ive been surfing 4 times now, and am looking into getting my first board, im about 5'8 and weigh 180lbs ish (now on my quest to lose weight) and am looking to surf places in england like witterings, bournemouth and croyde, first time i used a big swell board, second a smaller swell, then in puttsborough(next to croyde bay) i used a Bic 7'10 which i could the bigger waves with, but found it hard to balance properly, then the next day i was using a 7'6 which i found really easy to balance but found i wasnt catching nearly as much(although the surf was MUCH smaller,) from what ive read here i want something in between 7' and 7'6 but what i REALLY need is something with quite a bit of width and volume, the popout boards dont seem to be thick or wide enough for me, (plus they seem a bit heavy to me)
im looking on ebay and have seen a fair few henty boards that seem to fit what i want, although are a bit thin, but so i can have something to reference with, what do you think the ideal board dimensions would be for me???

any help on this would be awesome thanks,

Jay

ok done some more research, the popouts do seem about right for me, apart from the weight of them, im thinking about a 7'2 NSP fun board or possibly a Circle
One 7'3 which is just as wide but not as thick, which one do you think would better suit me?

Dont get a popout, theyre pure crap.

If its only you're fifth time in the surf, then a pop-out will do you fine. They're nowhere near as nice to surf as a 'real' board, but seeing as you'll probably progress on it then want to sell it, spending loads on a custom isnt the way to go.

So what do you want...
You're still learning so you're right to say you want something with a bit of volume, and you probably dont want a proper short board just yet. Trust me on this - trying to learn on a shortboard is a hugely frustrating experience. Particularly if you're not surfing everyday, and by the sounds of it you're not that close to the ocean?

And if you're going to be surfing wittering/bournemouth then a shortboard will be almost useless for you - the waves there are not nearly as powerful as croyde etc.
You need a fish or funboard shape (unless you go for a mini-mal, but if you're determined to be a shortboarder, then might as well start closer to a short board than a mal). They'll catch waves easier and give you the volume you need to.

So get something like 7'4 or 7'6, and 2.75" thick, and a funboard shape. There are several pop-outs that fit the bill. Then after a while, you can sell that, and get a custom, by which time you'll know if you need a shortboard or not.
But if you're surfing the UK south coast, then you'll probably want to stick to a fish/fun board.

Both fishes and funboards can be surfed at croyde, Puts, saunton etc and unless you're a surfing god, will get you a better share of the waves than you will get on a shortie.

Hope that helps!

My very first board was a bic 7'4 it was magic gr8 4 a starter..

have decided to go for a 7'6 circle one