Beginner, trying to start with a shortboard

[shakir]

Hey everyone, I'm trying to get into surfing but the only board I was able to afford was this used foamie shortboard:

It's a 5'6 Wavestorm Swallowtail and it's 39L. https://shop.agit-global.com/surfboards-shortboards/Wavestorm/5ft-6in-New-Modern-Swallow-Tail/trq-nv-marb/WS22SW56

To give some context, I'm 6'2 and weight around 180lbs/81-82kg right now.

As you can probably guess I did not have a fun time my first time using the board, it felt impossible to even sit on it. So I'm thinking of just toughing it out with a shortboard. How long do you guys estimate the learning curve to be and what tips do you have OTHER than switching to a longboard

[jaffa1949]

Sad mistake even if that was the only thing available your height your weight renders the board little more than a slightly longer body board.
Your last sentence in your last paragraph closes off any meaningful advice. to short etc. Ask advice before you act rather than after.
Resell your purchase and save up and go with length, the misery and length of your probable learning curve will be a huge discouragement!
Sorry truth hurts!!

[oldmansurfer]

Generally most people will learn quicker on a longer board. The reason is that a shorter board is more difficult to catch waves with. Learning process starts with learning to catch waves not time spent trying to catch waves. Are you a bodyboarder or bodysurfer? If so then maybe you can stick it out learning to catch waves as you already understand waves. If not then you have to learn about waves and how to read them as well. Very likely you should start with a board at least 2 feet longer than you. But if you have an instructor to stop you from making repeated mistakes it might be good. Practice doesn't make perfect if you are practicing the wrong thing. Practice makes permanent, well not really but if you're doing it wrong then you have to unlearn it. Surfing is not an easy thing to learn. Besides learning to ride a board , you have to learn about the ocean, what are the waves and currents doing and how that affects your abilities (not to mention a constant appraisal of what your abilities are).

[waikikikichan]

Couldn't you have afforded the 8 foot Wavestorm or its newer replacement, the Gerry Lopez 8 footer ?

How long do you guys estimate the learning curve to be and what tips do you have OTHER than switching to a longboard

Questions:
Do you have surf buddies you go to the beach with that ride short boards ?
Is the surf break you go to mainly for short boards or for long boards ?
How good of a paddler are you ?

[oldmansurfer]

There are a lot of variables in determining how long it will take to learn to surf. Waikikicahn is a surf instructor so he will have an idea how long it might take you but you need to answer his questions.

[oldmansurfer]

That's an interesting board. Soft but with triple stringer. It's 5'6" x 21" x 2.75". I learned on a PU foam and polyester resin board 6'10" x 18" x 2.75". It was heavier and longer but probably similar displacement. It should have better flotation than the board I learned on since it lacks fiberglass and resin. The thing about learning on a shorter board is you need to be more close to exactly in the right place in order to catch the wave. So in the lineup with a longboard you can catch waves from an area of say 20' x 20' and with a shortboard maybe 5' x 5'. This requires that you know the waves more in order to put you in the right place. A longboard allows less accuracy (usually). If you had bodysurfed or bodyboard prior then you might understand how to judge waves and all you need is to figure out where to be in the lineup which would be different from bodysurfing or bodyboarding. Without that you have to learn how to judge waves better than most beginners who learn on longboards. Saying that you are able to solve that problem, paddling and popping up on shortboard are more challenging. The shorter the board the less glide it has which is how long the board maintains speed after paddling. So on a shorter board you lose speed immediately when you quit paddling but on a longer board it keeps going for a bit between paddles or after you stop. So when you are catching a wave and you quit paddling on a shortboard you might miss the wave if you can't pop up in time due to the loss of speed. A longer board allows a longer time to popup (usually). All of these problems can be overcome but it will require commitment and an environment that allows you to learn how to surf properly.