Duane, when we made a board for Dennis, we set it up at 6'2" and right at 3" thickness. As I watched him from inside the boat, the board was a foot too long. Literally, the nose of the board never came in contact with the water, EXCEPT when he would turn hard. On a hard bottom turn the nose would dig into the flats. The relatively short pocket length, as Dennis pointed out, makes walking the nose a "quick" experience.
I've ridden a 5'10" Shred Stixx and also a 5'10" Surftech and they work well enough, if you don't wish to get too aggressive behind the boat.