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There is a great article by Don Casey in October's edition of "Sail" magazine on keel damage.

It just arrived yesterday so I guess I'll be checking that out.

When I dropped and re-bedded my keel 2 seasons ago I was surprised how thin the floor of the bilge is.  I made large backer plates and installed them under the washers just to make me feel better.  I would throw a wrench on the nuts and see if you "get anything" on them.  Some will say you can't check them in the water but if you look at it, you've got 9 bolts holding 5,000lbs, that's under 600 lbs each, and the rated strength of that threaded rod exceeds 10,000 lbs.. so go ahead and check them,  the keel is hanging there anyway.  After my rebedding project I checked the torque often to see if the 5200 was squeezing down over time. It wasn't.  After a winter, still no detectable changes.  Whenever I contact the mud, sand bar in our harbor I check them.  I'm not seeing any loosening.  However a big rock is another matter.  Best of luck!

Thanks, that's good information to know. The backing plates sound like a good idea if I ever want (or need) to re-bed the keel.

So, last year I (actually a new sailing friend at the helm) hit a rock going 3 or 4 knots, very loud bang, no grinding and no new water in the bilge  but I did haul the boat the next day and the fiberglass inspector said the rotational torque weakened the support areas of the hull surrounding the keel attachment area fore and aft which the surveyor agreed with.  $18,000 insurance dollars later the areas were ground down and then built back up, stronger than new I was told.  In addition, there was a baseball size chunk missing from the leading edge of my wing keel which needed a straight forward repair.  It all took about 6 weeks out of my Summer sailing season.  My main thought is that I'm glad I didn't assume everything was okay from the lack of bilge water coming in and sail hard putting normal lateral stress on the keel. 
Brian McPhillips

Yikes.

Steve ; The torque rating for the keel bolt nuts is 107 ft/lbs - incase you didn't know.

I didn't know... thanks Ron.

Steve

If you don't do it on a regular basis, I believe the manual calls for checking the torque of the keel boats after any grounding/strike.  So that might be a nice thing to do.

Sort of like GoldWing riders.  There are two kinds, Those that will admit they've accidently had their bike lay over on the roll bar and the liars.

Steve

Steve- thanks. I'll definitely check that.

Steve : If you don't have water entering the bilge and you have normal steerage, I plan on seeing a big dent/gouge when you pull out in a few weeks. 

As mentioned, if your curiosity gets the best of you and you have a warm wet suit, go down and take a look! 

a few thoughts

Ron - if I don't have water entering the bilge I'll be ok with a dent/gouge. I don't have a wetsuit (yet) so my curiosity isn't likely to win this time.

Can't resist sharing the Maine coastal saying " There are two kinds of sailors. Those that have hit rocks, and those that won't tell you they have hit rocks"

I fall in the latter category.

Gary

I'm not proud... 

Stu - normally when I go out I head through a nice wide channel that takes me past all the Islands near Portland out to open water. The channel gives me room to get the sails up. But yesterday the wind was coming straight in through that channel so I took an alternate route between two of the islands. I got the sails up but of course they all have rocky ledges and while I was fooling with the autopilot, bang! That lesson should last me a lifetime.

In Maine, for general marine supplies I love Hamilton Marine. I also recently found Chase Leavitt in Portland, ME. They seem very good for charts, inflatables and safety equipment. I bought an Achilles dinghy from them, they were a little more expensive than Defender but not too bad. Excellent service though.

[100%]

If you are 100%  sure that the keel was the only thing to strike, at the minimum, I'd check the bilge for any additional water and look at the keel bolts. If the water is warm enough, don your mask and snorkel and do a check of the entire bottom.

I'm as sure as I can be without actually seeing it.  Like I said, there was just one sound, no grinding or scraping and an immediate stop, I think I even bounced back a little. I will check the bilge and keel bolts. The water in Maine is getting a bit cold, so a check of the bottom will have to wait until hauling probably.

Steve, I did the same thing a few months ago.  So far, not an issue, I'll look for the gouge the next time I'm out.

Stu, nice to know I'm not the only one prone to the occasional bone-headed move. Having your chart right there in the cockpit is good, actually looking at it is even better.

Oops. Not paying enough attention to what was going on (obviously) and I hit a submerged rock. I wasn't going very fast, maybe 3 knots. There was a bang and the boat came to a complete stop, fortunately I was able to fall off the wind and sail away without any further problem. I'm wondering if I should have the keel checked, or just wait a few weeks until we haul for the winter. There was no grinding or scraping, just one sudden bump. How likely is it that I damaged my keel?

I've seen them for sale at Hamilton Marine right next to my marina in Portland. I thought about getting one but for my use I think it would be overkill, and they're kind of small and kind of heavy. Definitely seems like a cool little boat though. On "other forums" I have basically heard nothing but positive reviews from the few people that have one.

As Gary mentioned, the Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast is a fantastic resource. Information on pretty much every place you could think of (and many you couldn't) along the coast.

I haven't actually been on either, but I think there is more on Peak's I than Long I. A lot of people live there and there are stores and stuff. There is also Jewell Island, which is maybe a couple hours sail from Portland. It's a state park with trails for hiking and is supposed to be very nice (I haven't been there yet either) but I've heard the anchorage gets crowded and noisy. On Sundays there is (or was when I lived in Portland) a reggae festival on either Peak's or Cushing Island, I can't remember which.