Bob,
How likely would it be that your foot could pass under the bar in a role and then twist in a way you could not get free, it may be an entrapment concern. The wood plate would fix that but it may need to be supported on the top or bottom with a sliding brace (or a rope and cleat) also because of the lever action on the existing brace

: I am about to join the deck and hull of the Spring Run I'm building
: and I'm trying to decide what kind of foot peg / braces to
: install. I've got Yakima pegs on one kayak, Keepers on another
: and another style of adjustable pegs on a Dagger Alchemy plastic
: boat. I find these ok but not as comfortable as I would like but
: absolutely love the foot braces I have in my Wenonah Solo Plus
: canoe. They are the Wenonah brand sliding brace which consists
: of a telescoping aluminum tube that is mounted across the canoe
: and can be adjusted fore and aft on a track that mounts to the
: hull of the canoe (just like kayak adjustable foot pegs).

: Having an adjustable bar across the width of the kayak would
: provide lots of brace points but I wonder how it would feel on
: my feet after a couple of hours ( I wear water sandals in the
: canoe but booties in kayaks). I have also thought of adding a
: footplate to the bar by cutting a plywood plate that nearly
: fills the interior space (like a building form but a bit smaller
: to fit the space) with a short length of pvc glassed to the back
: so the foot brace tube could fit inside and pivot. I'm thinking
: that this would give me the equivalent of a bulkhead brace that
: pivots horizontally to match my desired foot angle and is also
: adjustable lengthwise. I could add some minicell foam to the
: plywood plate to make it comfy.

: I've attached a pic of the Wenonah canoe foot brace for reference.
: Am I crazy or is this a good idea that needs to be tried??

: Regards,

: Bob Beaullieu