One of our local sailors tore his bicep recently (not sailing!). We were talking earlier this week and I showed him your photos. Foot steering may help him get back to sailing a bit sooner.
The size of my steering footbar works well, don't need support at the mast base. Used this model for about 10 years, works well, a bit twitchy over 90 kph though. Maybe better response times using hand steering than foot steering as hands are closer to the brain than feet.