diff --git a/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/observer-loop.sh b/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/observer-loop.sh
index a899124a11..1d88c2269c 100755
--- a/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/observer-loop.sh
+++ b/skills/continuous-learning-v2/agents/observer-loop.sh
@@ -205,17 +205,20 @@ PROMPT
   fi
 
   timeout_seconds="${ECC_OBSERVER_TIMEOUT_SECONDS:-120}"
-  max_turns="${ECC_OBSERVER_MAX_TURNS:-20}"
+  # Default MAX_TURNS=50 to pair with the MAX_ANALYSIS_LINES=500 default (#2035).
+  # A 500-observation batch consistently exhausted the previous 20-turn budget,
+  # forcing every first-cycle analysis to fail with "Reached max turns".
+  max_turns="${ECC_OBSERVER_MAX_TURNS:-50}"
   exit_code=0
 
   case "$max_turns" in
     ''|*[!0-9]*)
-      max_turns=20
+      max_turns=50
       ;;
   esac
 
   if [ "$max_turns" -lt 4 ]; then
-    max_turns=20
+    max_turns=50
   fi
 
   # Ensure CWD is PROJECT_DIR so the relative analysis_relpath resolves correctly
diff --git a/tests/hooks/hooks.test.js b/tests/hooks/hooks.test.js
index 7c69f988b0..c12f0433cf 100644
--- a/tests/hooks/hooks.test.js
+++ b/tests/hooks/hooks.test.js
@@ -3137,7 +3137,7 @@ async function runTests() {
       const observerLoopSource = fs.readFileSync(path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', 'skills', 'continuous-learning-v2', 'agents', 'observer-loop.sh'), 'utf8');
 
       assert.ok(observerLoopSource.includes('ECC_OBSERVER_MAX_TURNS'), 'observer-loop should allow max-turn overrides');
-      assert.ok(observerLoopSource.includes('max_turns="${ECC_OBSERVER_MAX_TURNS:-20}"'), 'observer-loop should default to 20 turns');
+      assert.ok(observerLoopSource.includes('max_turns="${ECC_OBSERVER_MAX_TURNS:-50}"'), 'observer-loop should default to 50 turns to pair with MAX_ANALYSIS_LINES=500 (#2035)');
       assert.ok(!observerLoopSource.includes('--max-turns 3'), 'observer-loop should not hardcode a 3-turn limit');
       assert.ok(observerLoopSource.includes('ECC_SKIP_OBSERVE=1'), 'observer-loop should suppress observe.sh for automated sessions');
       assert.ok(observerLoopSource.includes('ECC_HOOK_PROFILE=minimal'), 'observer-loop should run automated analysis with the minimal hook profile');