Ultra-high-net-worth individuals who do opt for purchases end up chartering their yachts out to others to offset the steep maintenance fees, but these vessels are more money sucks than cash cows. For the $10 million superyacht, the annual maintenance comes in around $1 million, meaning the boat will have to spend between six and nine weeks being chartered to reach a break-even point, depending on what it can fetch on the rental market.

[Related: Read "In the boat and yacht market, there's smooth sailing ahead."]

“You will help offset maintenance, but that’s barring no mechanical breakdowns of major consequence, and it also depends on location and your crew,” Dawson said.

If a superyacht is kept in the Caribbean, Dawson estimated it will be chartered only three to five weeks a year. Superyachts in the Mediterranean end up rented eight to 12 weeks a year, she said. With agent fees and value-added taxes cutting into the profit, there’s no guarantee that putting a superyacht up for charter will recoup the owner’s maintenance costs, despite the growing popularity of chartering.

There are also some ultra-high-net-worth individuals chartering yachts to determine if they’re interested in making a purchase, and others who charter to travel to more adventurous destinations. A new wave of superyacht enthusiasts prefers traveling to remote locations. “It’s more convenient, in the sense that they can charter where they want to and not have to worry about moving the yacht,” Ben Kinnard, a research analyst with Wealth-X, said. “We’ve seen a trend [to] trying out new destinations. If you want to try out Asia one month and Antarctica the next, there’s a lot of hassle if you own the yacht.”

[Related: Read "Managing the risks of high-net-worth clients' global travels."]

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