What board should I progress onto?

[carolineod]

So I learnt how to surf last year, and can only surf 4-5 times a year for a couple days, except in the summer where I surf as much as I can. I would say I've done over 25 full days of just surfing so I've done about 125 hours of surfing. I've learnt and still am learning on an 8ft foam board but I'm struggling to learn anything new, such as surfing down the line because the water turns into white water before I get the chance to turn. Three different surf coaches from the surf school I go to have told me I'm a natural and I'm very good for only having surfed a bit. I want to get a new surfboard, but I don't want to transition to a smaller board and end up hating it because it's too advanced and I can't do anything on it. I'm 15 in 2 weeks, I weigh 75kg and I'm a girl, I'm overweight and I am on my way to becoming slimmer. I am pretty fit as I'm a competitive swimmer. I'm striving to lose at least 7kg before I get my new board, as I don't want to get a one while I'm heavy and then lose weight and end up having a super buoyant board. I'm thinking of getting a fish or a fish hybrid at about 6'6. I'm really not sure though what's best, I'm just struggling to get over waves on my current board because I can't duck dive which sucks. I'm open to all criticism and yes, I know I'm a beginner and shouldn't progress too fast, but I don't want to stay on an 8ft foam board. Is it better to get a fish or another foam board/mini-mal at 7ft?
age/gender: 15, girl
height: 75kg
weight: 164cm
p.s. I would just like to add that I'm very passionate about surfing and I really enjoy it and being in the water

[Tudeo]

Best is to try some board first. if possible. You'll probably best of with a (mini) malibu shape between 7'6" and 8'. You still cannot duckdive those boards for that you'll need something like 35-40 liter boards,but you're probably not ready for that yet. On a 35-40l board you would struggle to catch waves, and there's no learning without catching waves..

Just learn to do an effective turtle roll to get thru the white water, and catch loads of waves.

[dtc]

At 70kg or so, you should aim for an 8ft or even 9ft board. You will find that the foam boards are much floatier than hard boards - easier to paddle etc, so dont think that you should drop down in length just because you can surf an 8ft board. You probably wont be able to duck dive anything that isnt pretty short/low volume, as Tudeo says, which it doesnt sound like you are ready for

Can other surfers where you surf manage to turn and go down the line? Are they surfing long boards? If yes, its probably not the board but your skill. Perhaps they are angling the takeoffs, so they are already heading down the line as soon as they pop up (you can google 'angling take offs''); or you are just a bit slow in turning (no criticism - a lot of learners naturally go straight before their body/mind says 'need to turn' and by then its too late). If no one can surf down the line at your beach, then perhaps you need to try somewhere else (however, if its somewhere that the surf school pick, I suspect its not totally terrible).

Finally keep this thought in your head: the board you buy as a learner (and even more so when you are only 15) WILL NOT be the last board you buy. You may end up buying a board now and selling it in 12 months to buy something else. or in 2 years or you may end up with 15 different boards in your shed. Be a bit conservative with your first board - buy a board you know will be good for you (a mini mal/longboard) and not the board you think might suit you in 12 months time. Be prepared to trade/swap/buy new boards. I know that as a 15yr old you may not have the money, but if you buy a good second hand board now, you can sell it for not much less than you paid for it most of the time. If surfing is your 'thing' - you will find the money or you can wheedle it out of your parents somehow!

Not being able to duck dive is a pain but... I dont own any boards I can duck dive but still manage it (most of the time!)

[Lebowski]

The others have covered it pretty much.

If you can't ride down the line on the (very buoyant) foamie, why do you think that buying a board with half of the volume is going to make it easier? It will be much harder to catch waves, and you'll be catching them later (if at all) which means even less time to stay on the open face.

As dtc mentioned, if the beach you're surfing at is just messy closeouts, you need to try somewhere different. I used to work for a company that did 5 day surf tours and many of the students would be riding down the line on about day 3, after just 8 hours or so of surfing. Maybe the instructors are enjoying your repeat business!