From the pics it's definitely a channel trailer -- Also, it has the aluminum carpet trim & rope insert bumper trim, so I think it was made in Mt. Home right before the 2002 move to TN...

Regarding the performance, searched a lot of old post & there seems to be an opinion that the 200HP lacks a little in the low end (hole shot) on the 196 & that's why the same basic hull was used to come up with the 198 @ 225HP...