It could work as a long galley or U with 2 foot deep counters on both sides and a 4 foot aisle. The counterdepth could be increased slightly to have a 3.5 aisle.

What is on either side of the kitchen? Can you post a floorplan or give an indication of the surrounding area.
Our kitchen is basically 19 1/2'x 9 1/2'.(However it does have a separate eating area at the end.)
One wall is the outside wall and is the long wall at 19 1/2'. The top wall is our outside window wall and the other long wall has our DR on the other side of it.
What we did was we gave two entrance into our DR - one at the top and one part way down to give the impression of a wider room.
The top wall of our kitchen we ran the counter to the end and then on the side wall put a normal sized doorway into the DR and so there is no corner cabinets here. Then 9' of wall pantry/fridge/etc and then another entry into the DR.
I don't know if this makes sense or not. Anyway post plans if possible and the layout people can help.

Can't say definitively without pics, specs, or a layout... but the dimensions itself could make for a GREAT galley kitchen. They really rock for functionality

The problem of repurposing an old kitchen for a new use can be a thorny one, esp. a long narrow one. Witness the recent thread about where to distribute appliances in a modified kitchen and whether to start over elsewhere. It's ironic that we Americans have to think "how can I use the old space?" when we plan big kitchen additions. I'm not guiltless here--we have repurposed our corridor kitchen and put in one of those additions, but we worked 2 years to get the plan right so we didn't leave behind a marooned oddball space. The old kitchen has become a working hall between old house and new kitchen and routes people away from front door and kitchen.

We worked in the old 8 foot wide kitchen for many years. As long as a room like this is not a frequently used hall also, it works, although some rules of civility must be agreed to. The 4 feet across is a good thing, although losing 6 inches on one side to a deeper counter wouldn't bother me (I don't think). Don't put dishwasher on the long sides unless you have to because it bisects the space when open and adults cannot move around it without extra caution.

Don't go at the corridor project with a "sky's the limit" attitude and let go the idea of a fancy showplace with bare countertops. If you want a working kitchen you have to be very disciplined in deciding what you absolutely need and what is only a want. Don't let yourself be romanced by mega-ranges and refrigerators--examine the modest European model of space usage. Also assess what kitchen functions can be off-loaded to adjacent spaces....a second sink along a transition zone? dishes storage in dining area? large pantry items stored in adjacent closet? or storing "good deal" yet to be used foodstuffs in garage (from the Costco big shopping trip)?

Adjacent to our old corridor kitchen we built an insanely big storage cupboard over the basement stair. We ignored the unreachable top of it but used the bottom shelf for picnic stuff, canning stuff, etc. Also, remember that a refrig can be pushed into the wall behind it to cut out 3+ inches of depth. If there's a window, it might be possible to make a bump-out so sink area has space for good faucet and items arrayed around sink. Examine the many kinds of customizing inserts and such for cabs and drawers. Consolidate as much space as possible for each function--two large lower drawers instead of four smalls.

Next to range, try doing what we did--put knives and utensils into the countertop, freeing up two drawers for other uses. (The drawers were shortened to allow this adaptation.) This idea is one I gladly give to the GW to those people who aren't embarrassed to show that they own utensils and knives -- everyone who sees it loves it. Also put a niche or shelves over range to hold oils, salt and pepper, etc. Making the range a cockpit area "rocks" as noted above.

There are examples of corridor kitchens out there to study. Look hard. Biggest challenge will be to make it work for two cooks, if you need that. Don't put range or sink into a corner because that guarantees that one cook will have to stand to the side waiting for the other to do something.

Even look at the recently posted West Coast architect's corridor kitchen with the zipper door. I suspect that was close to 8 feet across.

in your floor plan can you show enough to give an idea of the areas around the ends of the 8'x17' space?

think of two openings, two access points, somewhere at least 10' apart if not at the ends of the 17' run.

that makes the galley into something more exciting than a dead end destination.

There are few more efficient layouts than the galley kitchen, counters on both sides, so the answer is a resounding YES, it can work, especially for one cook.

This is a picture of a yacht kitchen
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62411057@N02/5680082643/in/photostream/

this is a picture from Remodelista.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62411057@N02/5680644246/in/photostream

dang it, did the pictures work?

This sounds like our kitchen. Our work space was 8x8 and eat-in space 8x8 1/2 before the remodel, making an 8x16 1/2' room prior -- actually the room didn't change it's foot print, but we took the wall out between the kitchen and living room and eliminated the eat-in space for additional work space. Very happy with the functionality of the end result. Below is a link to my photobucket album with some pictures both of before and after:

Here is a link that might be useful: photobucket pics

Here is ours. It is only 9'3" by 13'2". Our current galley kitchen is 8'ish and works great.

I am at work, and didn't take time to read all the responses. We added a 8' x 16' room between the house and the garage during our recent remodel and use as a bakery. It is not dark although it has only one west window at the narrow end of the room. One thing that helps is one side has 18'' deep storage and the other side is standard depth cabinetry. There is a refrigerator, 9' of counter space, double ovens and a very large sink. Especially if pantry/storage is available outside the kitchen proper, I think the space you have for a kitchen is doable. The primary considerations to me would be its location within the house with respect to the dining room, garage and whether or not you want more than a couple of people in the kitchen.

My original intent was to use the long, narrow room for a huge pantry and laundry room. That may work for you as well.

Good luck!

We have a 7 1/2 x 22ft kitchen that works pretty well for us.. we also had a box at one end with lots of unused space.. not very functional. I have shelves above the yet to be refinished buffet.
Before:

Before pantry

This (unfinished) one is 9, but has a 58 inch aisle, which some people think is a bit too wide. It could easily be 46 or less if you wanted that. There are multiple cooks in this kitchen and the HOs wanted a wider aisle and some decent drawers to each side of the range. With the style of cooking they do they can do a lot of prep on the L side without a prep sink as well.

Ours is 9'1" wide and 17.5' long. The range-side countertop is 28" deep, the island-side countertop is 32" deep, and the aisle is 49" wide. So if you cut down the counter depths to the standard and narrow the aisle a bit, you'd have your kitchen. Ours is a walk-through with the LR at one end and the DR at the other. But you could fill in the end of your galley.

I do not have a clear picture of your floorplan, but how about using part of the 17' for a galley kitchen and the rest, with no counters, for eating, sitting-around, reading GW, area? Who says the weary cook wouldn't like a spot to sink into a leather club chair with a neat scotch, while waiting for the water to boil?