Beginner board question

[Phils]

Length helps with paddling speed and tracking, so it really depends on your paddling skills.  I have plenty of stability (70 kg) on my JL 6-5 at 115 L but as expected, I need to do a lot of work to learn to paddle it fast and STRAIGHT.  That's fine since it is a skill I am developing and a good workout on non wind/wave days. 

[flkiter]

Tilt the board into your paddle stroke, it'll counter the push and keep you in a strait line. I think there's a video kicking around about it some place on the zone. Once you get the technique down, it's not going to matter how long the board is to paddle strait but, a shorter board will let you pop onto foil faster. Which ever board you get, take some time getting used to paddling with it before charging the waves. You can pivot a foil sup easier than a regular sup. I tend to late start, I'm lazy to paddle for the waves. I let the wave do the work and then I paddle to keep up on foil.

[Phils]

I started practicing in flat water and discovered the tilting technique by trial and error.  People also talk about an inverted "J" stroke where you pull toward the board briefly...I have not been able to make that one work yet.  For those of you who have been doing it for a while, you may have forgotten how difficult it is to paddle straight on a shortish  board.