ORIGINAL:
The reason I did it was that I was doing a float fly out in AZ and the front of one of the floats gave way. The front dropped down as I was making my approach ~~~ it went straight in from about 30 ft. I made the repair mentioned and flew it the next day. I still have the floats and have never had another problem , I had 3 sets.
I think the previous owner of my plane had a similar situation when the front landing gear bolt vibrated out. I also believe he was somewhat inexperienced and the plane may have been too much for him. He said he made 2 flights. The first one probably scared him and the second one really scared him when the float came off. It would me too!
The floats do seem to be attached a little flimsy and now I'm thinking about your modification. The front mounts are my main concern. The rear will just track if they came loose but dropping the front could really mess up a nice flight!