It is said that there are two types of sailors. Those that have run aground and those that will run aground. This past weekend, after ten years of sailing my boat, I became one of those that has now run aground on my '87 C-30 standard rig. The details of the grounding are not important, although in hindsight it was avoidable (as they all are). The fact that another boat did the same thing in the same spot a little while later at least made me feel like I wasn't the only one prone to a judgement error. The grounding was a bit hard, as I was powering into a cove for anchorage. It didn't sound good when we hit and the boat lurched forward with what I remember to be an awful sound. The only good news was that it was relatively easy to put the engine in reverse and back off the hard ground that I plowed up on. Only the keel touched ground, nothing near the shaft or prop. No noticeable changes observed from topside. The tops of the keel bolts looked normal, tight and unchanged. No leaks into the bilge. This weekend I'll rent a wet suit and tank and take the plunge to view the damages. Of concern is damage to the lead ballast and any damage to the hull / ballast joint. My question is for those who have had this experience in the past. What kind of damage did you have and how did you repair it? If you mess up the lead ballast, how do you repair it? What else was an issue? Bolting? I realize that there are lots of factors on any grounding. What you hit, at what angle and how hard. But, I wanted to get a range of experiences from those who have been there. Any responses are appreciated. Thanks.