Rockfish, sorry, didn't realize you were fishing solo, that will eliminate the ability to stack the riggers. I have fished downriggers solo many times and I to use manual crank, I fish them down to 140ft. and have not lost a fish to a hanging ball yet, what I like to do is set the hook and gain a little line before I begin bringing up the ball, you will also want a fairly tight drag, gives you more control over the fish. (to many people fish with to light of drags) once you've gained some line start cranking on the downrigger, being the only rod you also have a lot of room to play a fish without crossing other lines, basically, I guess what I'm trying to say is that is not crucial to get the downrigger up in the first 10 seconds, you'll just want it out of the way before the fish gets into net range.
I learned from watching commercial trollers who are usually by themselves with multiple lines in the water that running a downrigger solo could be done, and with a little practice it really isn't hard to do. Good luck