Here is an extension from Google called Google SSL Web Search (beta) that lets you add Google SSL Web Search and provides option to make it default search provider in Google Chrome. This extension is doing just what I mentioned in that article and is very simple and straightforward to install.
However, currently Google SSL Web Search extension supports Chrome developer version (dev 6.0.419.0 and later) only. If you want to add this on all versions, refer this article. Interested Google Chrome users can download Google SSL Web Search extension at Chrome extension gallery.