Paul Stowe escaped from his boat with his wife, son and two cats, and has since been staying on a narrowboat in Staffordshire.
His boat was teetering on the edge of the hole, but was winched several feet backwards to safety before Christmas.
“Over Christmas the main thing that we are amazed at, is the amount of support from the local community, local businesses,” he said.
“People offering everything from holiday villas in Italy, toys for the cats, people bringing hampers to us… we’ve been amazed by the support that we’ve got from the community in Whitchurch, but also other boaters as well.
“The future, we’re not sure about.”
On Friday, Julie Sharman, chief operating officer for the Canal and River Trust, said: “It’s going to cost several million pounds to reinstate the canal.”