33 CFR § 175.105 - Definitions.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t33/s175.105"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "33 CFR § 175.105 - Definitions."
title_number: 33
title_name: "Navigation and Navigable Waters"
section_number: "175.105"
section_name: "Definitions."
chapter_name: "COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY"
subchapter_number: "S"
subchapter_name: "BOATING SAFETY"
part_number: "175"
part_name: "EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "46 U.S.C. 4302; DHS Delegation No. 00170.1, Revision No. 01.3."
regulatory_source: "CGD 72-120R, 38 FR 8115, Mar. 28, 1973, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "175"
---


# 175.105 Definitions.

(a) *Visual distress signal* means a device that is approved by the Commandant under 46 CFR part 160 or certified by the manufacturer under 46 CFR parts 160 and 161.

(b) *Coastal waters* means:

(1) The U.S. waters of the Great Lakes (Lake Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior);

(2) The territorial seas of the United States; and

(3) Those waters directly connected to the Great Lakes and territorial seas (*i.e.*, bays, sounds, harbors, rivers, inlets, etc.) where any entrance exceeds 2 nautical miles between opposite shorelines to the first point where the largest distance between shorelines narrows to 2 miles, as shown on the current edition of the appropriate National Ocean Service chart used for navigation. Shorelines of islands or points of land present within a waterway are considered when determining the distance between opposite shorelines.

[CGD 76-183, 44 FR 73024, Dec. 17, 1979, as amended by CGD 82-073, 49 FR 7119, Feb. 27, 1984; 49 FR 20815, May 17, 1984]