Hope I'm not too late. Confession - I have been using a double blade as my primary means of propulsion in solo canoe tripping for the past 30 years.
I use a 260 cm Bending Branches Slice in my 32" beam, 29" gunnels Swift Raven. You don't want to go shorter in a tandem. If you're getting wet, your paddle is too short.
I don't see this "limited stroke options" issue. I have, on both sides, forward stroke, reverse, forward sweep, reverse sweep, bow draw (duffek), and straight draw. I also have a low and high brace on both sides - to have any offside brace from near centre in a wide tandem you would have to be much taller and more flexible than I am. The double blade also allows powerful front and back ferries in shallow rocky rapids where it's hard to get a vertical plant with a single blade.
The notion that a shorter paddle (lever) will give you more power to straighten your boat in a quartering wind strikes me as strange - I'd like to see the equation for that one.
You can also choose to paddle feathered or not feathered, depending on the wind and how your carpal tunnels (my first reason for trying the double blade) are feeling on any given day.
For technical maneuvering where the water is deep enough for a vertical paddle plant, the lighter, shorter single blade is easier to manage, and I always carry a single blade for such situations and as a spare.
In the end, you should do what you enjoy, and what works best in a given situation. Canoeing is an avocation, not a religion. You should also feel free to travel as quickly, or slowly, as you may like; to fish and photograph or not; to cook for gourmet or "food as fuel" on the fire or stove of your choice; and to travel alone or with others as you prefer. The fact that others do things differently does not mean they are wrong.
End of rant.
jmc
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