mast post compression
 

Hello,
I have a Newport 28 and this year I have found that I needed to tighten down my shroud turnbuckles a lot, to tighten the shrouds. I have always had a leaky chainplate on the port side and the water has run down the bulkhead and softened the plywood which is attached to the compression post. I think this bulkhead has sunk a little therefore dropping the mast a little and making the shrouds loose. I know this problem can exist on older boats and have found a few posts on the web.
Has anyone here experienced the same problem?
I imagine that I need to address the leak better and then replace the bulkhead and possibly the post.
Thanks