A pilot sits on the nose of his seaplane in 1932 along the shore line of the lower base. - Hal Neubauer

The plane in the photo is a Detroit "Sea Rover". It was a four-place flying boat built in 1930 with a Challenger 185hp engine. It would almost have to be either of the these two planes:

NC-469M owned by David W. Rust, 17530 East Jefferson Ave, Detroit, MI.
or
NC-473M owned by Philip Kling, 1008 Buckingham Road, Grosse Pointe, MI. - William Larkins