This thread is a good example of the many theories and wives tales you will hear about float set up. It helps to remember that model float planes require a different setup than full scale.

Gee Bee floats are definately a big part of the problem. They have no flat planing surface, so their angle on the water has to be controlled by the elevator. If you can keep the top of the floats parallel to the surface of the water while the airplane is gaining speed, you can get them off the water quite easily. But let the angle change so that the front or rear portion of the float bottom gets into the water and the drag will slow you right down. (Or cause a water loop.)

The fact that you have a flat bottom wing complicates things because flat bottom wings fly with the bottom of the wing at a negative angle to the direction if travel. Set up the way you have it, you will have to give the airplane a fair amount of up elevator to get it to run properly on the center of the floats and that will increase the drag on the airplane to the point where you can't get up to flying speed. On the other hand, if you don't give it any elevator, the airplane will try to level itself and the nose of the floats will dig in.

When all else fails, try setting the top of the floats parallel to the top of the stabilizer. This will let the airplane run along the water in it's normal flying attitude without elevator input, while the floats are approximately centered and causing minimum drag. Once flying speed is acheived on the water, slowly feed in up elevator and she will take off.

Jim