where to put downrigger on Hobie AI?

I used a Scotty Depthmaster downrigger on my Hobie Adventure (now known as the Revo 16) for 3 years and really liked it. Now that I've got an AI, I'd like to use the same downrigger, but I'm having a hard time figuring out where to put it. I've seen some examples online where people have attached a DR to a haka, and that looks good, but I don't have hakas and probably won't anytime soon. I could put put it in a similar place as I had it on my Adventure (front-right cupholder), but that doesn't seem optimal on the AI. Any ideas would be appreciated.

NwM

What year? Could you mount it in the rear cup holder? Or on the rear cross bar? Maybe in the front cupholder as before and just no trampoline on that side?

I don't know, but I'll be following this! Interested in the ideas.

Before I put mine on the haka, I had it on the rear crossbar, facing right. Worked ok, was nicer on the haka as the crank was in a better place

Before I put mine on the haka, I had it on the rear crossbar, facing right. Worked ok, was nicer on the haka as the crank was in a better place

Thanks. What do you use for the haka?

I had spineboards off ebay.  Basically bolted the mount to one, worked like a charm.  you could use anything though-- old 2x4...doesn't really matter.
I pointed the boom of the rigger straight back - i used a 24" boom so that was just about perfect to clip into a rod holder mounted on the akabar

I was going to mount it on HAKA (spineboard) - less drilling, more stable and out of the way. But that was just a theory.

Sounds line a haka is the best bet. For now, I'll try the front cup holder since that's easy and it should work, but not optimal.

I've got the DR mounted in the front starboard-side cupholder. This is the same place I put it on my old Adventure/ Revo 16. On the AI, it seems like it needs to be even more solid, since there could be some serious stress placed on the hull if the ball gets stuck on something. So, I did the following:

1) Put a railblaza "sideport" mount inside the mesh pocket.
2) Epoxied a nut into a Hobie threaded insert. This modified threaded insert is screwed into the slot that sits just outside the forward starboard-side cup holder.
3) Cut a platform out of 1/2" "starboard" plastic (similar to cutting board material), attached a railblaza adaptor to it, and mounted the depthmaster adaptor to it as well.
4) From a thick piece of scrap starboard, I fashioned a support for the platform. This support is attached to the platform, it's wedged against the edge of the cup holder, and it's screwed into the nut in the modified threaded insert. This makes the whole setup extremely rigid and spreads any load over a large area of the kayak. I'd say that this use of the threaded insert is borderline clever.

Eventually, I'll replace the bolt that goes into the threaded insert with a thumb screw. Then the DR mount can be installed/removed without tools.

Here are a few pictures that might make things clearer.