Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - should I use Eastern Hemlock for decking?

Hello all,

I am in the process of clearing my land and I have mostly hemlocks to work with. I am planning to build a deck and yurt and I would like to use as much of my own lumber as possible. I have heard conflicting reviews about using hemlock to build with. Some say that if you saw it and age it (for a year), it becomes too hard to get a nail through will be very heavy. I've also heard that if I build with it still green I run the risk of it twisting.

For the deck I plan to use pressure treated lumber for the posts, but was hoping to use the hemlock for the flooring of the deck.

Does anyone have advice about when it is best use hemlock? And will it last for a considerable length of time if I use it for decking?

Thanks

Eastern hemlock tends to have wind shake and twisted grain in the butt log portion of the tree, at least in my area. This causes it to twist and split from the internal stresses. The last time I used it I did not use the first 6'-8' of the butt end of the log. I had it sawn into rough sawn bevel siding. I still ended up with a lot of waste from splitting.
It tends to splinter and sliver too, not a nice feature for a finished floor.
I assume this "deck" will actually be the floor of the yurt? Covered and above ground it would last a long time.
But were you going to try and have it tongue & grooved like a hardwood floor? Because I think it would be very difficult to work with then.
I guess if it's all I had I would try it, but if given a choice I would choose another species of wood.By the time you have it sawed and milled you would not have to spend much more to buy some better logs.
Just my opinion.

Thanks for your reply, your advice about the first 6'-8' is great.

Part of the deck will be exposed and part will be covered by the yurt itself. I am not planning to cut it to be tongue and groove, I will use something different for the actual finished floor.