Hyperelliptic surfaces with $K^2<4\chi -6$

Let $S$ be a smooth minimal surface of general type with a (rational) pencil of hyperelliptic curves of minimal genus $g$. We prove that if $K_S^2<4\chi ({\mathcal{O}}_S)-6,$ then $g$ is bounded. The surface $S$ is determined by the branch locus of the covering $S\to S\mathrm{/}i,$ where $i$ is the hyperelliptic involution of $S\mathrm{.}$ For $K_S^2<3\chi ({\mathcal{O}}_S)-6,$ we show how to determine the possibilities for this branch curve. As an application, given $g>4$ and $K_S^2-3\chi ({\mathcal{O}}_S)<-6,$ we compute the maximum value for $\chi ({\mathcal{O}}_S)\mathrm{.}$ This list of possibilities is sharp.