Airplanes have been using something similar for years, they call them vortex generators, they help keep the flow attached at high angles of attack, for more lift and a lower stall speed, but they do not make you go faster.
DC and the boys tried some ribbed stick on plastic sheets on the bottom of their AC boats some years back, I don't know if they ever decided it was much faster or not.
Same example for pipe organs, they put grooves on the pipes where the air escapes and sound eminates...if they don't, the airflow is not laminar (smooth flowing and straight) and the sound 'wobbles'. It seems to be true for any fluid, including water.
