RE: NP seawind crashed, now what? (float plane wise)
I'll vote for the Sr Tele. I flew one for about 5 years until My receiver decided to pack it in one day.
Great floatplane.
Another choice: Kadet Senior. Maybe even better than the Tele.
3rd Choice: Astro-Hog.
The Sr Tele needs 45" long floats. The SrK and AstroHog get by on about 40" floats.
Although I have flown flying boats, I will offer that I am more comfortable with floatplanes. FBs can hook the wingtip float and do strange things sometimes. They ARE less likely to blow over.