l recently bought a shorter board (6'6), my old board was 7'2. I've been out prob. 10 or so times with my new board, and am just getting clobbered out there. Which is fine, but for some reason I am having a bit more trouble with some waves. On my longer board it felt like l had a bit more a 'gap' between when l could stand up. With this new board I am getting clobbered on steep waves.

l have a blast when l catch a wave that sorta 'pushes' me into it, but on quick popups where l have a very little time frame, otherwise l get clobbered I am finding myself just pulling back because l feel l wont make it.

Any tips? l have no problem with smaller waves, but the bigger ones l tend to get a bit scared of and pull back.

hey Brian, where u from?
me l am from Hawaii, & surfing here is what it is a blast, but if u r in the wrong place fish food.
You r having trouble because u r use to the longer board, which is bigger, faster & more stable so u do not have to be in the pocket to take off, the smaller board u have to paddle faster. Try taking off from in the pocket when u feel the wave pick u up face the board in the direction that u a planning on going & paddle faster that is about all u can do.
Take it easy & happy surfing..

Maybe try taking off a little farther down the shoulder, the wave face should not be as steep.

All of the above is good but one more thing you have commit yourself 110% when taking off.If you pull back a bit cos you feel you wo not make it, you wo not make it! Paddle hard commit and get up quick other than that it is just practice.

Try using a board that has a nice square tail, this should help stabilise your landing. :)

Not really sure from the info provided, but it sounds like u need to work on pop ups & placement in the wave. Dropping 8 inches is a big jump so learning to surf the board is part of the problem. Are u able to get up on it a t all?

also when surfing bigger stuff, it helps to drop in at an angle into the wave so u do not have to bottom turn & gets u right on to the face

And when the wave grabs u & throws u forward, put more weight on ur rear foot & bend ur knee, this will keep u placed on the board & not blown off the back.

Good luck