You're taking a gamble with the bulkhead and footbrace thing. Anyone's opinion on this is a guess, mine included. I know that when I push in a solid bulkhead, It's a tight fit and I sand away a little here and there and try to get the nicest fit (as I describe in my manual). You might be able to come in at an angle but you may not have the room in front to turn it back in position without hitting the foot rail. You may be forced to push it forward a bit more where it gets smaller.

If it doesn't work out, you could always squeeze in a closed cell bulkhead.

On the other hand, It may slide in easily ??????

Or, make a fiberglass panel bulkhead which you can bend a bit into position.