: I'm about to start stitching together the hull for my CLC Shearwater 16
: Hybrid. I'm looking ahead to foot bracing, and considering using custom
: foam blocks against the front bulkhead. Is that 4mm glassed-in bulkhead
: strong enough to take the pressure? If not, how about with a stiffener
: and/or extra perimeter glass on the back side? Thanks much.

This is probably a good opportunity to relate a true story that happened to a work colleague who is an experienced paddler.
He was walking along a beach where a guy who was playing in the surf nosedived his sea kayak & it flipped upside down in a few feet of water. The guy didn't surface so Fred (name changed to protect his identity :-)) waded out to give him a hand & found him tightly wedged down in the bow of his upturned kayak because his bulkhead had broken with his full weight on it. I think that would be a very scary way to go, just the thought of it makes me want to put in another 6 layers of glass.
Needless to say, the guy was very thankful that Fred was in the right place at the right time.
So like John said, if you're going surfing, make sure you can stand vertically on your footbraces however they're made.
Glen G