: 2. Other than trading boats with others are there any other benefits for an
: adjustable footbrace?

If you have the bulkhead further from your feet, you can store something
big and heavy (like a gallon jug of water) beyond the foot braces. This
means water which you need for a brew at a lunch stop is a lot more
accessible than if it was stored on the keel in an otherwise full
compartment. Storing heavy stuff as low in the boat as possible helps
stability.

My wife prefers to have footrests rather than a solid bulkhead since it
allows her to stretch her legs out on less stressful paddles, which helps
to avoid cramp.

Geyrfugl has a solid bulkhead which I use as a footrest, but (removeable)
Yakima footrests for my daughter, for whom the boat was built. Since she
was nine today, she is still growing pretty fast and a solid bulkhead
would not be an option. Having the Yakimas removeable helps reduce the
weight penalty when they are not needed.

My Cormorant has a solid bulkhead which was very carefully positioned -
I am a slack fit in the boat in trunks and bare feet, but I get cramp
in my right leg if paddling in thick clothes and wellies. Adjustable
footrests would only be an advantage for this if they had an adjustment
granularity of a small fraction of an inch - but in reality most footrests
go in steps of an inch or more. As it happens, I hate footrests anyway
because I like a nice solid place for the whole of my foot. No-one else
who has tried the boat (and not many folk fit) really likes her, so trading
boats is not really something I need to do much. When I do, I use chunks
of buoyancy foam to pad out the bulkhead - probably lighter than adjustables
too.

Andy