For the most part, we stopped using moisture meter and phenolic hammers as a staple in 1992. We sometimes use them in an area that we think needs to be double-checked, but rarely are they used.
Thermal imaging is more accurate. If there is bottom paint on a boat, you may read false positive with a moisture meter. With a phenolic hammer, if there is a large area of moisture in a hull, there will be no change in resonance and you cannot map it, or even close areas space to space and the more you test with a phenolic hammer the sound may never change, or you hit a stringer which is solid and you believe the is a problem. Years before thermal imaging that was all that was there, except drilling holes in a bottom of a boat.
We do all fiberglass and composite boats with the FLIR INFRARED Thermal Imager, which is very expensive equipment. We have even used it on steel and aluminum boats and it is a great help after NDT testing with an audio-gauge. Very few marine surveyors have the proper tools but you pay for what you get. And trust us when we say this: It’s worth the few dollars difference. A basic standard Thermal Imaging is done on all boats.
If we find multiple severe anomalies, it may be advisable to conduct an in depth heat applied Thermal Imaging. This is normally a one or more days project involving the water line down to the keel. If anomalies are found all the way from the cap to the keel that may involve a longer period the price depends of the hull or what is covered. The pricing depends on the size of the hull, the number of the days and time it takes to read the scans. At minimum a 100 scans will be taken, and on a larger hull may need 200 scans (or more) may be needed.