: Regarding the Maroske fittings, I made mine without sleeves, and
: they worked out great. I just filled under the tubing loop with
: epoxy/filler mix, and then put glass over the resulting smooth
: hump. This might add a little bit of weight, but not much, and
: the end result is probably stronger.

That's how I currently make mine. Rope in PVC, covered with fiber-thickened epoxy and a skin of glass to smooth everything. I did just buy some 1/2" carbon sleeve to play with. It was fairly cheap too. It should save time and a few ounces of weight for those ridiculous light builds and be even quicker (I may be building a super-light BTD Sea Racer this spring. Stay tuned.).