Beginner skimboarder with a lot of questions. Please pop into the thread and lend a hand :)

I’m from South Africa and skimboard wave riding is virtually non-exist. So as one does I had to order a board(that’s not a plank of wood) in from the USA. I had no clue on what board to get but after calling the store from which I was buying I was led to buy the zap amp x. I was told it’s not ideal for beginners but is a great board to improve on and is awesome once you beat the beginner stages. Was this board a good idea for my situation and what’s your opinion on it if you’ve ridden one? It doesn’t seem to be hugely popular and especially in comparison to the fuse x.

Now my problem starts with the fact that I can’t get out far enough to catch a single wave and am struggling a lot with pumping and not sinking. Is there a way to fix this? Also if I’ve dented the bottom of the board scraping it over a rock can that make a big difference? The scrape isn’t deep at all but there’s definitely a ding.

Lastly how much effort/time do you expect for a beginner to be able to catch a wave? I can do 360s and shuvs on flat ground and am confident on boards of all sorts. I just can’t get out further than 2 meters once I leave the sand...

If you can give any advice it would be really appreciated!