I have ridden boards from 14ft to 9ft2 in the surf and after 7 years on a sup I have ended up around the 10ft 6 to 11ft length in board as ideal for the stand up in surf.
I came to SUPs from windsurfing to longboarding all my life, now 57. Forced by back problems to suping or give up surfing SUPs it was. No regrets.
So here the quandary. If you like shorter boards than 10ft, why would you chose it to be a sup, when a long board or mal 8ft to 10ft is so much better to ride, you don't get smashed around so much with all that board and paddle, and so much more manoverable.
I see so many SUPs out there that spend so much time struggling to stay up right, getting blown of by a 10 knot breeze and missing so many waves.Why would you do it if you're in a position to have the choice.
Just opening a conversation if you're interested.