Howdy,

Curious as to what people are paying to insure waterbirds- I'm a low-time
PPL-ASEL/S-IR and would like to someday get to use that "Sea" rating a
little more often. As it is now I do have the opportunity to build some solo
time in a 172 floatplane up in Maine but that's a 4-hour drive from Boston
and not really a "permanent solution."

In terms of aircraft, my thinking runs towards an amphib b/c I don't have
money for two planes and would prefer to have something I could keep at a
land airport. As I see it I have a few sorts of choices:

1. New or lightly-used Husky on amphibs
2. Used Lake LA-4-200 or 250
3. Go the light-sport/experimental route- something like the SeaRey or Czech
Mermaid

I like the idea of a flying boat for its superior rough-water performance,
but I'm not 100% tied to it. While I'd also like a plane with basic legal
IFR capability, the LSA route appeals to me from a cost-of-ownership angle.
If I went that way I'd seriously consider taking the 120-hour mechanic's
course so I could do the maintenance, though I don't see having time to
build a bird from scratch right now...

-cwk.