Transitioning from Long board to shorter board--advice?

[cvlsrvcagain]

Hi all

Great site and knowledge sharing.

I am looking to get some advice on the best dimensions of a short board style board for me- considering the following:

I surf mainly Orange County California spots
I am 6-1, 185llbs
currently ride an 8 footer and an 8'6 long board. Both are 22 wide and the 8'6 is pretty thin at 2 5/8

I want to move down to a short board style board. I dont think I am ready to go below 7', so I have been looking at 7'2 to 7'8 sized boards.

Standing up , basic manuvering, and paddling is not an issue on the boards I mentioned earlier.


Any help would appreciated.

Thanks

[fisherguy]

i think it all depends on how often u surf. i started surfing one month ago on a 9'4" longboard about 3-4 times a week then moved to a shortboard 2 weeks ago. i can now stand and turn and get onto the face on waves of up to 4-5ft face. in the past 2 weeks ive surfed about 10 times for 2 hours each. ive been told it takes way longer to learn how to shortboard, but rly, i realized its all a matter of how much time you put into it. if u can stand and turn confidently on a longboard, id say you can get started on a shortboard.