Hi Anne
We had the exactly same damage to our 2007 385: the starbord side of the pulpit was sheared off when we came back to the boat after a few weeks last summer. Also the rear rope guide (sorry, I don’t know the correct name but I guess you know what I mean) was sheared off (the cleat was fine). If some other boat had attached to the pulpit instead of the bow cleat it seems clear that it sheares off. But how they managed to tear of the rope guide I have no idea. Brute force.
Anyway – the pulpit we took off and had it welded. The rope guide was a bit more of a hassle because we had to drill out the sheared off screws.
But to answer your question: I am pretty sure that our pulpit is stainless steel. At least in the workshop they did not chrome plate it so if it is not stainless steel it will be gone soon.
cheers
Andreas
The membership association for owners of Dufour Yachts