"Ernie" wrote in message
...
I have a 17' outboard that I purchases last June that always has water
in
the bildge area. Is this normal?

How much water? What do you use the boat for? What kind of hull?

There's a lot of things that can cause it - ranging from rain water, to
getting in and out of the water into the boat (e.g. swimming, or the dog
getting in and out), to a leak.