33 CFR § 177.03 - Definitions.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t33/s177.03"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "33 CFR § 177.03 - Definitions."
title_number: 33
title_name: "Navigation and Navigable Waters"
section_number: "177.03"
section_name: "Definitions."
chapter_name: "COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY"
subchapter_number: "S"
subchapter_name: "BOATING SAFETY"
part_number: "177"
part_name: "CORRECTION OF ESPECIALLY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "46 U.S.C. 4302, 4308, 4311; Pub. L. 103-206, 107 Stat. 2439."
regulatory_source: "CGD 72-71R, 37 FR 13347, July 7, 1972, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "177"
---


# 177.03 Definitions.

As used in this part:

(a) [Reserved]

(b) *Boat* means any vessel—

(1) Manufactured or used primarily for noncommercial use;

(2) Leased, rented, or chartered to another for the latter's noncommercial use; or

(3) Operated as an uninspected passenger vessel subject to the requirements of 46 CFR chapter I, subchapter C.

(c) *Coast Guard Boarding Officer* means a commissioned, warrant, or petty officer of the Coast Guard having authority to board any vessel under the Act of August 4, 1949, 63 Stat. 502, as amended (14 U.S.C. 522).

(d) *Operator* means the person who is in control or in charge of a boat while it is in use.

(e) *Use* means operate, navigate, or employ.

(f) *Vessel* includes every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water.

[CGD 72-71R, 37 FR 13347, July 7, 1972, as amended by CDG 84-099, 52 FR 47534, Dec. 14, 1987; USCG-1999-5040, 67 FR 34760, May 15, 2002; USCG-2020-0304, 85 FR 58281, Sept. 18, 2020]