A question if allowed. What are the aerodynamic drag penalties or
advantages in
this contrast.
Low wing monoplane on twin floats vs low wing monoplane on single main
float
with small wign tip stabilizers (IE Grumman duck).
In the former example the main float attachment scheme may be central
pylon(s),
peripheral struts, and/or a fuselage width faired in structure.
My thought exercise is prompted by the fact that, it would be easier to
implement amphibious tricycle gear on single float, and single float would
be
able to handle higher sea conditions.
C. Smith

Single float needs to be bigger to maintain displacement then you need the
tip floats and their associated drag too. Common mod on the Goose is to
retract the tip floats into the wingtips., helps reduce drag and allows
partial tip float retraction enabling heeling the boat to give your other
wing clearance over the dock. U/C is very narrow and is short too so you
have to be very careful on the ground and even a tall boat like a Goose
doesn't have much wing clearance for docks. Beavers and even 185's are way
better in that regard.

John Gibbons