Boaters said when boats have to go through the Chiquita Lock, it's like a whirlpool.
Melanie Keifer and Marcus Schuette dock their boats at Cape Harbour Marina in Southwest Cape.
The Chiquita Lock is the only way for Keifer and Schuette to get out.
"It's a nightmare to go through there," Keifer said. "It's not just us here in the marina; it's all the boaters up spreader, all the boaters on this side of the lock, and anybody who wants to come and visit. Everybody's going through the same thing."
Keifer said the reason it is so hard to get through there is because you can only go through at slack tide.
"Slack tide is when the water is calm," Keifer said. "Otherwise, it's raging either in or out, which is extremely dangerous and hazardous to the boaters and their boats. There have been numerous boats that have gotten stuck in there."
Schuette said they're dependent on the tide being high.
"High tide is going to be slack, like Melanie said," Schuette said. "It's just a pain."
On Monday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a final order and a permit for the city of Cape Coral to remove the lock.
Those who have fought to keep it have argued that removing it will harm water quality and mangroves in the area.
Keifer said ever since Hurricane Ian, the lock has been stuck open, which has made the water come up high, making it almost impossible for boaters to get through. She said until they make it functional again, where they go in and they lock you in, it's going to be a hazard.
While the city of Cape Coral agrees with boaters that the lock is dangerous, Keifer said the city hasn't told them much.
"That would be great if they could give us some notification so we could find temporary dockage maybe on the other side because we are not boaters that like to sit in the marina," Keifer said. "We like to use our boats and enjoy what Florida has for us."
Boaters said they want the lock to be removed as soon as possible.
ABC7 asked the city of Cape Coral when the lock will be removed. They said they cannot take a guess on the timeframe.