Why small landing craft were inexpensive

What did small landing boats cost, and why were they so cheap?

Their simple, largely wooden hulls cost comparatively little, although engines could be accounted for separately and raised the true complete cost.

Small landing craft could be produced cheaply because their hulls were simple and often built from plywood or other timber. Contract arithmetic puts some LCAs at roughly 500-600 dollars per hull at the time. Engines could be accounted for separately, so the figure should not be treated as the cost of a complete powered unit. Even roughly built boats were intended for repeated operational use.