The catadioptric Celestron C8 Deluxe on its fork mount requires habits different from the two refractors on German equitorial mounts. First, the polar alignment looks intuitively backwards (but isn't). Second, manually aiming the scope is different. But once this is learned, it is not too difficult to star hop to your target, and the mount tracks quite steadily for observational use. One visual difference is that the stars seem softer or less sharp/defined than with the Takahashi.

Two recommendations. Use a 12volt battery, not the two 9 volt batteries mentioned in the documentation. A dew heater (or at least, a dew shield) is an absolute necessity in this part of the state. The C8 is extremely sensitive to humidity, and it doesn't take much of it to cloud your view.