It depends on how old your boat is and what hardware you have installed. The stock setup changed a little bit over the years.
The original design was a 4:1 purchase that tied off on one side of the mast base. The line went up to a double block on the mainsail, down to a sheave on the other side of the mast base, back up to the second block on the mainsail, and finally back to a block mounted at the center of the mast base and cleated off on a cleat mounted towards the front of the boom. (Sorry, I don't have any pics, but this should be what is described in the assembly manual.
In later years, Hobie eliminated the cleat on the boom and moved it to the mast. The cleat was pointed upwards, and there was a block above the cleat so you could pull down to tension the downhaul.
Most racers would install upgraded systems that had 6:1 purchase (three blocks on the tack of the mainsail) and two cleats - one mounted on each side of the mast - so the downhaul could be adjusted from the trapeze.
Post some pics of your system or provide a bit more description of what you've got and we should be able to sort it out.
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