Rotten Palm?

I found a large palm tree the other day so i grabbed my chainsaw and a trailer and brought it home. I've made a tiki from Mesquite wood, but i've never tried a palm. How do you tell if the wood is still ok? I stripped the outer layer of bark off, but several chunks came off too. This tree was about 20 feet long and i cut it in half. The top half i could almost carry myself, but the bottom half still had some weight. Should i chunk the top half or can you still use it? Any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have had no luck with the palm. My first log was about 5feet by 3 at the root flare. It was cut during the fall and even though I had it covered, it just mildewed and rotted away. Back in May, I picked up some landscaper scraps while at South Padre Island. With the recent drought and heat, they continued to dry until they just whithered away. I still have two that might make it. Let me know if you ever get it figured out. I would love to give the palm a go.

Sorry, first thing that came to mind when I read Rotten Palm....

What kind of palm?

Or did you say and I just didn't read well enough because I was distracting myself with the old guy image?

Chip, i think its a sabal palm. One of those really tall ones.