I guess it is a little off topic now but since I started the thread I should mention that my gears (main and tail) turned out great. The main is made from three layers carbon cloth each side of about 10 layers hybrid and the tail is 90 % carbon with hybrid in the middle. It was layed up on a form much as has been described in this thread except it was not vacbagged. I think it will work out fine, and I may have struck a perfect ballance between the carbon and the hybrid. I have sat on the center section of this Decathlon with my full weight and the gear flexes but does not fault. The tail gear deosn't even move. Perhaps it is too stiff.

These pics show the look. My main objective was to put a slight bow in the gear as scale and at the same time achieve a little more strength....gear weighs 8 oz. (approx.) whereas the 1/4" 6061-T6 weiged 18 0z.