Yes they are, and the short answer is you don't - when I spoke to Matt, he thought it would be manageable just using the slack in the hoses and leaving them joined up.
That is the one part of this that gives me a slight sense of nervousness as I want to see how easy that is in practice!
Yours was the one that gave me the idea to ask for the breakaway couplings, so thanks!
Looking forward to getting stuck into riding mine once I've picked it up...